Early postoperative complications in open heart surgery patients: A review

Abstract

Over the past few decades, open heart surgery has undergone significant progress in terms of technologies used, operative techniques and resuscitation care. This has led to a significant increase in patient survival and quality of life after discharge. However, there are still a number of challenges to be addressed, one of which is reducing the incidence of early postoperative complications. They are directly and primarily determined by patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as by the characteristics of the surgical intervention itself and are a major factor in the outcome of the surgery performed. This review presents the most important and frequent early complications, their epidemiological and clinical features. Their good knowledge is the key to achieving an optimal treatment approach and seeking effective opportunities for their prediction and incidence reduction.