Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Kalp ve Damar Cerrahisi AD, VAN

Aim: Following open heart surgery most frequent complication requiring revision operation is early postoperative bleeding. In this study we retrospectively evaluated patients that underwent revision operation for early postoperative bleeding. Methods: Between January 2000 and March 2004, 520 patients underwent open heart surgery in our hospital. Eight of them were re-explored due to postoperative hemorrhage; their ages, primary operation types, cardiopulmonary bypass times and bleeding sites were analyzed. Results: Causes of the re-exploration were cardiac tamponade in one patient, bleeding from harvested area of internal mammary artery in two patients, bleeding from side branch of internal mammary artery in one patient and bleeding from posterior sternal area in one patient. The remaining three patients had no active bleeding site. Sternal wound infection requiring operative debridement occurred in one patient after revision operation. All patients who underwent revision operation except one had cardiopulmonary bypass time more than 120 minutes. Conclusion: In our series, low rate of revision operation seen after open heart surgery due to bleeding reveals the importance of appropriate surgical technique and ceasing of the drugs enhancing bleeding such as aspirin.