Postoperative Revision Surgery for Bleeding in a Tertiary Heart Center

We analyzed cases of re-exploration for bleeding after 19,680 open heart operations performed between January 1995 and January 2009 to determine the risk factors for mortality and morbidity. Half of the 282 patients reexplored had nonsurgical causes of bleeding. The patients were grouped according to the timing of reoperation, early reexploration being on the day of the operation. Mortality, total morbidity, and the need for transfusion of any blood product were compared between the early and late reexploration groups. Most patients (77.7%) were reexplored early. Overall mortality was 8.5% (24 patients). Mortality, total morbidity, renal, gastrointestinal, neurologic and infectious complications, and low cardiac output differed significantly between the 2 groups. Significant predictors of mortality were old age, female sex, left ventricular dysfunction, noncoronary operations, and delayed reoperation. Predictors of morbidity were old age, preoperative dialysis, tobacco use, chronic lung disease, and delayed reoperation. No factors were found to be associated with the need for transfusion.