William C. Scott, MD, Chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (center from left) leads a surgical team performing open-heart surgery.
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 inthrop has the lowest risk-adjusted mortality rate for cardiac surgery in the New York Metropolitan region, according to the most recent New York State Department of Health findings. Statistics released by the State in October indicated that in 1997, the latest year for which figures were available, Winthrop
was ranked first in the downstate region
for having the lowest observed mortality and risk-adjusted mortality rates.
The statistics rank New York State
hospitals in terms of mortality rates
following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), one of the more
commonly performed open-heart
procedures. Risk-adjusted mortality rates
use a formula to compensate for acuity of patients’ conditions. This helps to create a level playing field for hospitals that operate on higher risk patients, including patients who are more critically ill, elderly, or have other serious medical conditions that might impact on their ability to recover from open-heart surgery.
“We are most proud of our statistics,” said William C. Scott, MD, Chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Winthrop. “These excellent outcomes are attributable to our experienced, dedicated staff, and the comprehensive
program we have worked diligently to assemble.”
The State figures also reveal that Winthrop is one of the busiest cardiac surgery programs in the New York Metropolitan region. In 1997, Winthrop
surgeons performed more than 860
CABG operations.
Since they rely solely on CABG data, the New York State statistics do not reflect the other highly complex cardiac surgical procedures performed at Winthrop.
Winthrop is currently the only Long Island hospital, and one of only seven non-cardiac transplant centers in the nation, offering patients the TCI Heartmate Left Ventricular Assist Device, or L-VAD. This sophisticated “artificial heart” assumes the critical pumping function of the heart’s left chamber, allowing patients in end-stage heart failure to live independently and regain strength, while awaiting an appropriate donor heart. Other aspects of Winthrop’s program include off-pump open-heart surgery, also known as “beating heart” surgery, and minimally invasive open-heart surgery, which spares patients the trauma
of an open-chest operation. In addition, an increasing number of patients are undergoing valve replacement surgery as well as by-pass and valve replacements performed
simultaneously. Projections for the year 2000 are for more than 1,100 cardiac surgical
procedures to be performed at Winthrop.
For additional information on the Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Program,
part of Winthrop’s Institute for Heart Care, call 1-800-443-2788.
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