Post-Operative Outcomes
Postoperative outcomes are summarized in Table 3 . There were no
in-hospital deaths and 3 strokes (5.6%). Of the 10 patients (18.5%)
who experienced respiratory failure, 5 had prolonged intubation
(>48 hours) and 5 had tracheostomy. Six patients (11.1%)
required renal replacement therapy and 1 patient underwent
re-exploration for bleeding. The median hospital length of stay was 10
days.
Overall actuarial survival at 1 year and 6 years was 81.7% (95% CI,
63.7 – 91.4%) and 70.4% (95% CI, 50.1 – 83.6%), respectively.
Mid-term survival was similar between the groups at 67.3% (95% CI 38.0
– 85.0%) in resident/junior attending cases and 75.6% (95% CI 47.1
– 90.1%) in senior attending cases (adjusted hazard ratio 1.48, 95%
CI 0.33 - 6.73, P=0.61) (Figure 1 ). Reinfection occurred in 1
patient within 1 year of surgery and was associated with recurrent
intravenous drug use. There were 2 reoperations for homograft structural
valve deterioration: 1 in year 3 and 1 in year 7. One hundred percent of
patients alive were in NYHA I or II at the last follow-up.