Pediatric Heart Surgery Survival – Overall Outcomes
The Cardiac Center carefully tracks overall pediatric heart surgery outcomes, which measure how groups of patients do after surgery. The most important reason for evaluating this data is to identify areas for improvement. We also use this data to compare ourselves to other hospitals and to answer families’ questions about pediatric heart surgery survival and other outcomes.
Cardiac Center outcomes data
There are many important outcomes. The most important is survival. Our surgeons operate on many patients with extremely complex heart defects, and most of these patients survive. Our pediatric heart surgery survival rates are among the best in the nation.
The Cardiac Center team performs more than 850 pediatric heart surgeries a year, including open heart and closed heart procedures and heart transplants. Open heart procedures, which represent a major portion of our volume, require cardiopulmonary bypass (heart-lung bypass machine) and are usually the most complicated and complex procedures. The chart below shows our annual volume and outcomes for all open heart procedures to give you a clear understanding of pediatric heart surgery survival.
Click or hover over bars for more information.
You can also look at our pediatric heart surgery survival data for surgical procedures arranged by:
Standards for reporting outcomes
Most pediatric hospitals use the same standards, set by independent organizations, in deciding how to collect and report data. The data here is based on national standards from the National Quality Forum, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society, and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
Independent data, such as that presented here, is a valuable tool to evaluate different programs’ expertise in cardiac surgery. Becoming well informed is one of the most important ways you can ensure that your child receives the best care. If your child is our patient, please feel free to ask your care team any questions about pediatric heart surgery survival. If you are considering bringing your child here, and have questions about outcomes, please contact us at 267-426-9600.
A long-term commitment to excellence
The Cardiac Center is committed to excellence in all outcomes, which make a profound difference to the well-being of patients and their families. Pediatric heart surgery survival is the most important clinical outcome. Outcomes over the long term are also very important. Parents ask: How will my child do in school? What health challenges will my child face as a teen or adult? At the Cardiac Center, our care does not end when you take your child home. In many ways, that is just the beginning. Some of the special programs we offer to support children into adulthood include:
- Fetal Heart Program: A program that specializes in the detection, evaluation and management of fetal heart defects prior to a baby's birth. Accurate diagnosis and detailed treatment recommendations help achieve better outcomes for patients with congenital heart defect.
- Infant Single Ventricle Monitoring Program: A program that provides care for high-risk infants with single ventricle disease who have had a newborn operation (Norwood, shunt, or Hybrid procedure). Patients are followed in the Program beginning after the newborn operation until they undergo the Glenn operation.
- NeuroCardiac Care Program: A program to screen and coordinate care for pediatric cardiac patients who are at risk for learning disabilities and other developmental delays.
- Single Ventricle Survivorship Program: A program that brings together doctors from numerous specialties to focus on survivors of single ventricle heart defects who may have health issues that are not cardiac-related.
- Heart Transplant Program: A program known both for its excellence and for its comprehensive approach to care. If your child is referred to our Heart Transplant Program, our goal is not only to assess your child for transplantation, but to explore other medical and surgical treatment options.
- Philadelphia Adult Congenital Heart Center: A program for adult survivors staffed by a team of experts who understand their unique needs
At the Cardiac Center, we want every child in our care to have a bright future. Our commitment is a long-term commitment.
Contact Us
For a second opinion, cardiac referral, or for more information.
267-426-9600
To schedule an outpatient appointment.
215-590-4040