European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jul 2011
Cardiac surgery and hematologic malignancies: a retrospective single-center analysis of 56 consecutive patients.
Patients with a history of hematologic malignancies (HMs) are considered high-risk candidates for cardiac surgery. Increased perioperative rates of infections, thrombo-embolic complications, and bleeding disorders are reported. However, low patient numbers and lack of control groups limit all published studies. ⋯ Cardiac surgery in patients with a history of a malignant hematologic disorder might achieve acceptable results. However, a higher complication and mortality rate have to be anticipated. Patients with hematologic disorders and a history of either irradiation or chemotherapy appear to be at an increased risk to develop postoperative end-organ failure.