Rowe Georgina, Gill George, Zubair M Mujeeb, Roach Amy, Egorova Natalia, Emerson Dominic, Habib Robert H, Bowdish Michael E, Chikwe Joanna, Kim Richard W
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
Ann Thorac Surg. 2023 Jan;115(1):119-125. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2022.06.043. Epub 2022 Jul 21.
Single-center studies have demonstrated excellent results for the Ross procedure in children. We aimed to evaluate national variation in clinical outcomes using The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database.
The database was used to identify 2805 children undergoing the Ross procedure from 2000 through 2018, comprising 163 neonates (<30 days, 5.8%), 448 infants (30-365 days, 16.0%), 1444 children (1-12 years, 51.5%), and 750 teenagers (13-17 years, 26.7%). Centers were divided into terciles by procedural volume. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of a composite outcome of operative mortality, neurologic deficit, or renal failure requiring dialysis.
Neonates and infants were more likely to present with aortic stenosis than children and teenagers (61.7% [n = 377] vs 34.6% [n = 760]; P < .01) and have risk factors including preoperative shock (9.2% [n = 56] vs 0.4% [n = 8]; P < .01). Operative mortality was 24.1% (n = 39) in neonates, 11.2% (n = 50) in infants, 1.5% (n = 21) in children , and 0.8% (n = 6) in teenagers (P < .01). Independent predictors of the composite outcome in children aged <1 year included neonatal age (odds ratio [OR], 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9-4.8), low-volume center (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-3.9), and procedure year (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.5-0.9 per 5 years). In children aged ≥1 year, no association was found between center volume, procedure year, and outcome.
The Ross procedure is being performed with low mortality in children aged ≥1 year throughout North America. High-volume centers have improved outcomes in children aged <1 year, who have different anatomic characteristics and risk profiles.
