Abstract
Based on a longtime voluntary registry, founded by the German Society for Thoracic
and Cardiovascular Surgery (GSTCVS) in 1980, well-defined data of all cardiac, thoracic
and vascular surgery procedures performed in 78 German heart surgery departments during
the year 2020 are analyzed. Under the more than extraordinary conditions of the ongoing
worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, a total of 161,817 procedures were submitted
to the registry. A total of 92,809 of these operations are summarized as heart surgery
procedures in a classical sense. The unadjusted in-hospital survival rate for the
29,444 isolated coronary artery bypass grafting procedures (relationship on-/off-pump
3.6:1) was 97.2%. For the 35,469 isolated heart valve procedures, (17,471 transcatheter
interventions included), the survival rate was 96.7%. Concerning short- and long-term
circulatory support, a total of 2,852 extracorporeal life support/extracorporeal membrane
oxygenation implantations, respectively, 843 assist device implantations (left/right/biventricular
assist device, total artificial device), were registered. In 2020, the number of isolated
heart transplantations increased to 340, a rise of 2.1% compared with the previous
year. The isolated lung transplantations amounted to 291, a decrease of 6.4%.
This annually updated registry of the GSTCVS represents voluntary public reporting
by accumulating actual information for nearly all heart surgical procedures in Germany,
constitutes advancements in heart medicine, and represents a basis for quality management
for all participating institutions. In addition, the registry demonstrates that the
provision of cardiac surgery in Germany is up to date, appropriate, and nationwide
patient treatment is guaranteed all the time.
Keywords
heart valve surgery - congenital heart disease - coronary artery bypass grafting -
aortic surgery - transplantations - heart-lung - COVID-19
