Mehmet Nur TALAY, Özhan ORHAN, Yiğit KILIÇ, Eşe Eda TURANLI, Bedri ALDUDAK, Adnan AZİZOĞLU, Ferhat KALKAN, Mehmet Nuri ÖZBEK
Türkiye Çocuk Hastalıkları Dergisi - 2026;20(5):318-324
Objective: Congenital heart diseases (CHD) frequently necessitate cardiovascular surgery (CVS) in pediatric patients. This study aimed to evaluate postoperative complications following CVS and to investigate their association with mortality. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, the medical records of 124 patients who underwent CVS and were subsequently monitored in the pediatric intensive care unit were reviewed. Results: Among the 124 patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery, 52.4% (n=65) were male. The median age was 7 months (range, 2-71). Ventricular septal defect closure (n=49) and complete atrioventricular septal defect repair (n=15) were the most frequently performed procedures. Twenty-seven patients had chromosomal anomalies, most commonly Down syndrome. No postoperative complications were observed in 95 patients. The most common complications were atelectasis, arrhythmia, and subcutaneous emphysema. Extracorporeal therapy was administered to 12 patients. Overall mortality was 8.8% (n=11). Preoperative pulmonary hypertension (PHT) was the most common cause of death. Among the deceased patients, additional factors associated with mortality include infection and lower albumin levels, while nitric oxide therapy and intraoperative cardiopulmonary bypass use were also more common, possibly reflecting greater clinical severity. Conclusion: As the use of cardiovascular surgery for CHD continues to increase in pediatric patients, optimizing intraoperative management and promptly identifying postoperative complications are crucial for improving survival outcomes.
