Postoperative Characteristics and Complications
Patients with ATA recurrence had a significantly longer median postoperative hospital length of stay compared to those without recurrence (8 days [IQR 7-9.5] versus 7 days [IQR 5-10]; table 4). Patients who remained ATA-recurrence free over the entire follow-up period had significantly shorter median intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (41 hours [IQR 25-75] versus 73 hours [IQR 35-101,p =0.0090) and shorter median mechanical ventilation time (3 hours [IQR 1-6] versus 5 hours [IQR 4-16], p =0.0003) compared to those who had an ATA recurrence.
Major postoperative complications were low in this population overall (table 4). There were no mortalities within 30 days of surgery. The overall major complication rate was only 9% (15/174). Two patients required reoperation, one for bleeding and one for sternal dehiscence, and one patient had postoperative sepsis. Five patients developed pneumonia. One patient had postoperative renal failure which transiently required dialysis; no patient required permanent dialysis. Three patients (1.7%) had a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in the 30 day postoperative period, and one (0.6%) had a late CVA, which occurred 4 years postoperatively. There were no significant differences in rates of major postoperative complications between groups by rhythm outcome.
The majority of patients were in sinus rhythm at time of hospital discharge (78% 136/174), with 8% (13/174) requiring pacemaker placement postoperatively. Neither of these variables were significantly different between groups by rhythm outcome (table 4). Patients who remained ATA-recurrence free over the follow-up period were significantly less likely to have had postoperative ATAs during their initial hospital stay (37%, 42/114 versus 56%, 20/36, p =0.0468) compared to those who had an ATA recurrence.