Surgical Outcomes

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is the leading clinical data registry for heart surgery, collecting surgical outcome data for participating hospitals in the USA and Canada.  The STS categorises heart surgeries by complexity and survival rates on a scale of 1-5, these categories are known as STAT categories. 

The following graph compares survival rates between the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (SCHN, Westmead and Randwick) and figures provided by STS in a 2012 peer-reviewed publication, see Jacobs et al (2012). It demonstrates that SCHN is achieving results similar to or better than the reported STS benchmark.

*Jacobs, J.P.  O'Brien, S.M. Pasquali, S.K.  Jacobs, M.L.  Lacour-Gayet, F.G.  Tchervenkov, C.I. . . . Mavroudis, C. (2012) Variation in Outcomes for Risk-Stratified Pediatric Cardiac Surgical Operations:  An Analysis of the STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database.  The Annals of Thoracic Surgery https://doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2012.01.105

Survival rates are important but not the only measure of service quality. Through our service development projects we are improving patient and family experiences of care. Our integrated clinical and research programs focus on cardiac as well as other important outcomes including well-being.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please speak with your cardiologist or surgeon.