Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Outcomes
When it comes to your child’s care, we understand that quality, outcomes and experience are of the utmost importance. St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to our patients and we are proud of our high patient volume and positive surgical outcomes. With an overall survival rate of almost 98% from July 2015 through June 2019, our team consistently achieves surgical outcomes that exceed the national benchmarks as reported by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital voluntarily participates in the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database which is one of the largest clinical registries in the world for congenital cardiac procedures. The mission of the STS is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care. They are a national leader in health care transparency and accountability.
Our surgical planning often begins at fetal diagnosis, lessening family anxiety and ensuring parents know what to expect when their child is born. Our open and frequent family communication also demonstrates our strong belief in quality, excellence and transparency.
Outcomes for patients with congenital heart disease across the country are collected by the STS, and the data is subdivided into five different groups depending on the level of risk.
- STAT 1 includes the lower risk conditions
- STAT 5 includes the highest risk conditions
This allows us to benchmark our outcomes with national data, as these comparative tables show.
Between 2015 and June 2018, we performed 825 operations. Of these, 562 qualify for STS data comparison.
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Pediatric Heart Surgery Mortality/Survival Rates July 2015 – June 2019
Pediatric heart surgery survival rates compared by procedure risk categories over three years. St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital has a 98% or higher survival rate in three categories.
| July 2015-June 2019 | Number of SJCH Patients |
National/STS Mortality Rate Data |
SJCH Mortality Rate Data | SJCH Survival Rate % Conversion |
| STAT 1 (low risk) |
0/198 | 0.4% | 0% | 100% |
| STAT 2 | 2/251 | 1.4% | 0.8% | 99.2% |
| STAT 3 | 1/72 | 2.2% | 1.4% | 98.6% |
| STAT 4 | 7/130 | 6.1% | 5.4% | 94.6% |
| STAT 5 (high risk) |
4/24 | 13.3% | 16.7% | 83.3% |
| All patients | 14/675 | 2.7% | 2.1% | 97.9% |
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Pediatric Heart Surgery Length of Stay (LOS) by Procedure July 2015-June 2019
| LOS July 2015-June 2019 | Number of SJCH Patients | National/STS LOS Data | SJCH LOS Data | SJCH Patient Discharge post-surgery compared to national average |
| STAT 1 (low risk) |
198 | 7 | 3 | 4 days sooner |
| STAT 2 | 251 | 20 | 4 | 16 days sooner |
| STAT 3 | 72 | 15 | 5 | 10 days sooner |
| STAT 4 | 130 | 28 | 12 | 16 days sooner |
| STAT 5 (high risk) |
24 | 46 | 26 | 20 days sooner |
| All patients | 675 | N/A | 4 | Median SJCH LOS: 4 days |
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital Pediatric Heart Surgery Length of Stay (LOS) by Procedure July 2015-June 2019
Length of stay in the hospital post-surgery is expressed by procedure as a median in days. In all categories, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital had a shorter length of stay for its post-surgery patients, which translates to reliable diagnosis, solid pre-surgery planning, quality execution and effective post-surgery care.
| July 2015-June 2019 LOS Selected Procedures | National/STS LOS Data | SJCH LOS Data | SJCH Patient Discharge post-surgery compared to national average |
| Ventricular septal defect | 9 | 3 | 6 days sooner |
| Coarctation (off bypass) | 13 | 3 | 10 days sooner |
| Tetralogy of Fallot | 12 | 5 | 7 days sooner |
| Atrioventricular septal defect | 17 | 6 | 11 days sooner |
| Arterial switch | 18 | 7 | 11 days sooner |
| Fontan | 14 | 7 | 7 days sooner |
| Norwood | 50 | 23 | 27 days sooner |
| Glenn | 14 | 8 | 6 days sooner |
For more information about our pediatric heart services, call our KIDS Heart Hotline: (813) 644-6679.