Cardiac surgery considerations and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic |
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| Authors: | Alexander Iribarne MD MS FACC Vinod H. Thourani MD FACC Joseph C. Cleveland Jr. MD FACC Sukit Christopher Malaisrie MD FACC Matthew A. Romano MD FACC Marc R. Moon MD FACC Harish Ramakrishna MD FACC Holly E. M. Mewhort MD PhD Michael Halkos MD FACC Ibrahim Sultan MD FACC Christine Kindler PA-C Michael S. Firstenberg MD FACC Victor Dayan MD PhD FACC Vigneshwar Kasirajan MD FACC Chris Salerno MD FACC Alistair Phillips MD FACC |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Section of Cardiac Surgery, Heart & Vascular Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire;2. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Marcus Valve Center, Piedmont Heart Institute, Atlanta, Georgia;3. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado;4. Division of Cardiac Surgery, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Illinois;5. Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan;6. Divison of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri;7. Department of Anesthesia, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota;8. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota;9. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Emory University Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia;10. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;11. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;12. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical Center of Aurora, Aurora, Colorado;13. Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of the Republic of Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay;14. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pauley Heart Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia;15. Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Ascension Medical Group, Indianapolis, Indiana;16. Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio |
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| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed cardiac surgical practices. Limitations in intensive care resources and personal protective equipment have required many practices throughout the globe to pause elective operations and now slowly resume operations. However, much of cardiac surgery is not elective and patients continue to require surgery on an urgent or emergent basis during the pandemic. This continued need for providing surgical services has introduced several unique considerations ranging from how to prioritize surgery, how to ensure safety for cardiac surgical teams, and how best to resume elective operations to ensure the safety of patients. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has required a careful analysis of how best to carry out heart transplantation, extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation, and congenital heart surgery. In this review, we present the many areas of multidisciplinary consideration, and the lessons learned that have allowed us to carry out cardiac surgery with excellence during the COVID-19 pandemic. As various states experience plateaus, declines, and rises in COVID-19 cases, these considerations are particularly important for cardiac surgical programs throughout the globe. |
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| Keywords: | cardiac surgery COVID-19 |
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