Surgical outcomes of post-infarct ventricular septal defect repair: insights from the UK National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit Database

Objectives: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is becoming a progressively less frequent mechanical complication of myocardial infarction (MI). However, this event is still associated with high operative mortality. We aimed to describe the trends and the risk factors associated with surgical VSD repair outcomes and to provide a clinical benchmark for percutaneous VSD closure strategies.

Methods: Using the UK National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit database, we identified 1010 patients undergoing surgical VSD repair from 1996 to 2018. The primary outcome was operative mortality. Mixed-model, multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors associated with operative mortality taking into account the variation related to the centre, the surgeon and the year of the operation.

Results: Both the number of surgical VSD repair and the mortality rate did not change significantly over the 23-year timeframe. Operative mortality was 38.9% overall and was higher when patients were operated within the first 6 hours (75%) or the first 24 hours (61.3%) from the index MI. Risk factors associated with higher odds of mortality were early surgery, older age, cardiogenic shock, renal failure, previous percutaneous coronary intervention and urgent/emergent operations. Moreover, the mortality rate was similar among patients undergoing isolated VSD repair and VSD repaired combined with surgical coronary revascularization alone or with concomitant mitral valve procedures.

Conclusions: Post MI VSD remains a dreaded mechanical complication characterized by high surgical operative mortality. A delayed operation, whenever possible, appears to be the most beneficial strategy to reduce mortality.