Berlin - In Germany there are 78 specialist departments for cardiac surgery - and nothing more is necessary. This has been emphasized by the German Society for Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery (). "In view of the proven consistent and comprehensive patient care and the current treatment numbers, there is no recognizable need for the establishment of further specialist departments for cardiac surgery," said DGTHG President Wolfgang Harringer in view of the presentation of the new data.
The specialist society has the cardiac surgical performance figures , categorized according to procedures and survival rates, published for 2016. Coronary bypass operations then declined - from 51,941 in the previous year (2015) to 50,114 in 2016. The background to this development, which has been recorded for years, is that coronary heart disease (CHD) is increasingly being treated by catheter intervention with the insertion of stent .
More heart valve interventions
"This is only partially understandable, as the results are more diverse Medical studies show that coronary bypass surgery is the better choice for patients with multiple coronary arteries and more complex narrowing of the coronary arteries, both in terms of survival rate and quality of life, ”the association said. In addition, these findings are also reflected in the current recommendations of scientific and medical guidelines such as the National Health Care Directive "". “We expressly welcome binding, structured heart team concept. From the point of view of cardiac surgeons, there is still further potential for improvement in the treatment of CHD, ”emphasized Harringer.
The number of heart valve interventions is increasing, according to the DGTHG. "Aortic valve stenosis is currently the most common invasively treated heart valve disease, followed by mitral valve insufficiency," said the president of the association. The number of interventions in patients with acquired heart valve defects has been increasing noticeably for years, particularly through the use of catheter-supported therapy methods. While 32,346 heart valve operations were counted in 2015, it was 33,451 last year - an increase of around 3.4 percent.
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The cardiac surgery society was able to record almost no change in the number of heart transplants. In 2016, 291 heart transplants were performed, 215 there were 283 heart transplants. "Compared to the record year 1998, in which the preliminary high of 526 heart transplants had been reached, the current level is more than alarming," said the specialist society.