Thirty-five years of cardiac surgery in Jamaica

A retrospective review of the files of all patients who underwent cardiac surgery at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) and the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC), during the period April 1968 to June 2003 was undertaken. Data collected included age, gender, New York Heart Association risk score, type and date of cardiac surgery. The mortality rate of patients who underwent surgery during the period January 1994 to June 2003 was also analyzed A total of 2202 patients had undergone cardiac surgery (CS) in Jamaica during the study period of 35 years and two months. The common surgical procedures were valve surgery - replacement and repair (37.6%), correction of patent ductus arteriosus (25.2%) and repair of congenital heart disease (24.2%). Coronary arterial bypass grafting procedures constituted a small percentage (4.1%) of the cardiac surgical operations. A considerable number of patients have undergone CS in Jamaica, but much more needs to be done as the patient load exists. The future of the cardiac surgical service therefore depends on improvement in the facilities at both institutions and the cadre of the intensive care nursing staff The building of the Cardiothoracic-Neurosurgical Unit (commenced in March, 2003) is an essential step towards this.