Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/fovGVOV83o8   If you’re told that you must have cardiac surgery during the summer when the fresh crop of training doctors hit the hospital, you can go to the operating room with confidence that you are safe.  A study from Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital shows that the complication rates for the most common heart procedures were no higher July through September than April though June.   The study reviewed data from more than 470,000 procedures including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), aortic and mitral valve replacements, and thoracic aortic reconstructions.  There were no differences in complications, mortality, costs, or lengths of stay for those patients treated during the first or the fourth quarter of the med school academic year.   It is reassuring that, for critical cardiac surgery, safety nets are in place to assure uniformly high quality outcomes.  I would add, though, if you are having cardiac or any surgery, do your best to have it at institutions with the m