Quality Care, Not Number of Procedures, Determines Bypass Results

Hospitals that perform fewer cardiac bypass operations don't have more deaths following the procedure than hospitals that handle a greater number of bypasses, a new study says.

This finding contradicts conventional wisdom, which has assumed that hospitals that do more cardiac bypass operations have better results, with fewer patient deaths.

"Volume isn't the key ingredient or the driving force behind outcomes," said lead researcher Dr. Rocco Ricciardi, of the Lahey Clinic and Tufts University School of Medicine, in Massachusetts.

"We found over a long period of time that outcomes improved across the country no matter where you seek care," Ricciardi added. "It's been a gradual reduction in the number of coronary artery bypass graft cases performed because of the growth of less invasive techniques," such as angioplasty.

The study findings are published in the April issue of the Archives of Surgery .

In patients with coronary disease, the ...