Complex Cardiothoracic Reoperations
As life expectancies increase due to advancements in technology and health care, many people live long enough to require a cardiothoracic reoperation, commonly referred to as a second or third heart surgery. Patients may need a reoperation for a variety of reasons:
- Initial operation did not meet its intended outcomes
- Valve repair or replacement fails or deteriorates over time
- Complications from previous surgery
- New heart problems arise due to the development of a new heart disease
Difference Between Operations and Reoperations
Reoperations can differ from an initial surgery due to a range of factors, such as:
- Age: you are older than when you had your first surgery, which means you may have more medical conditions.
- Adhesions: these web-like connections may form between the structures in your chest due to the first operation. Similar to scar tissue, adhesions may present difficulties for your surgeon.
- Disease progression: if you underwent heart surgery due to a disease, like coronary artery disease, your condition might have progressed further along than where it was during your first surgery.
As indicated by the above factors, reoperations are more intricate than initial heart surgeries. With their increased complexity, you want to ensure that you have the best possible team with a highly advanced set of surgical skills and techniques.
Complex Cardiothoracic Reoperations at Kardic Health
Due to the inevitable nature of graft degeneration and the lack of comprehensive data regarding reoperations, the founder of Kardic Health, Dr. Simon Maltais, sought to evaluate the last 20 years of reoperations. As a result, Dr. Maltais became the lead author on Reoperation for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery: Outcomes and Considerations for Expanding Interventional Procedures, which later became one of the most significant publications on reoperations.
Dr. Maltais and his team discovered that reoperations for coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries could be performed safely with low early and late mortality rates. Since then, the study has been able to guide treatment strategies for patients who require heart reoperation.
