Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR) is an operation for treatment of narrowing (stenosis) or leakage (regurgitation) of the aortic valve. Sometimes, the valve can be repaired, but most often, it is replaced with a valve made of animal tissue or a mechanical valve. An "isolated" Aortic Valve Replacement occurs when AVR is the only major cardiac surgery performed.
What are we measuring?
The number of Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR) surgeries performed annually.
Why is this important
Studies have found that surgical teams with experience - that is, routinely performing a sufficient number of cases - get better results.
What does our performance tell us?
The chart below shows how many aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgeries were performed annually at BIDMC during CY 2010. The Leapfrog Group, a nationally recognized patient safety organization recommends that hospitals such as BIDMC perform at least 120 or more AVR procedures annually.
Source of comparison: Leapfrog Hospital Survey on Quality and Safety 2010. For more information go to
www.leapfroggroup.org.
BIDMC's total volume of AVR procedures exceeds the nationally recognized Leapfrog recommended guideline.
Mortality Rate
What are we measuring?
One important outcome for any surgery patient is survival post-surgery. Inpatient Mortality Rate is the percentage of patients who do not survive Isolated AVR surgery and die at any point during their hospital stay. 30-day Mortality rate is the percentage of patients who do not survive Isolated AVR surgery and die within 30 days immediately following surgery.
Why is this important?
Mortality rate provides general information about the quality of care delivery, and can be an important quality indicator. However, some hospitals care for patients with a greater severity of illness and therefore may have a higher mortality rate.
What does our performance tell us?
At BIDMC, the Inpatient Mortality Rate for Isolated AVR surgery in CY 2010 is 0%. A national database reports a national average Inpatient Mortality of 2.6% for Isolated AVR surgery.
The 30-Day Mortality Rate for Isolated AVR surgery at BIDMC in CY 2010 is 0%. A national database reports a national average 30-day Mortality Rate for Isolated AVR surgery of 3.0%.
Therefore, BIDMC's Inpatient and 30 Day Mortality performance appears better than the national average for Isolated AVR surgeries.
Length of Hospital Stay
What are we measuring?
The average number of days a patient undergoing Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR) surgery stays in the hospital.
Why is this important?
The number of days that AVR surgery patients must stay in the hospital is a way of looking at both the efficiency of care as well as its effectiveness. A shorter average length of stay may indicate that patients are recovering more quickly and experiencing fewer complications.
What does our performance tell us?
The chart below shows the average length of stay for patients undergoing AVR surgery at BIDMC during CY 2008 compared to a nationally recognized benchmark.
Source of comparison data: Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database; January - December, 2010 data and reports
According to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the average length of stay for patients undergoing AVR surgery in CY 2010 was 7.8 days. At BIDMC, the average length of stay for AVR patients was 7.0 days for the same time period. Therefore, BIDMC's rates for length of stay compare very favorably to the national average for AVR surgery length of stay.
Last Updated: May 25, 2011