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.