Pediatric heart surgery deaths highlight larger problem

New York parents would do anything to ensure their children get the best medical care available. However, the investigation and subsequent shutdown of a Florida hospital's pediatric heart surgery program in 2015 has health care experts worried that American parents aren't getting the information they need before letting their children undergo heart surgery.

Between 2011 and 2015, at least nine infants died after being operated on by doctors at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. The hospital's pediatric surgery program was closed after an investigative report by CNN exposed the deaths. However, according to experts in pediatric surgery, many other hospitals with poor performance records continue to operate on children across the United States. A study that examined 58,000 congenital heart surgeries performed at 73 hospitals found that the most complicated operations had widely varying success rates. Some of the most successful pediatric heart surgery programs had mortality rates as low as 6.5 percent, but less successful programs had death rates of over 38 percent. For public safety, patient advocates are pushing to have the programs at poor-performing hospitals closed.

The most troubling information highlighted by the St. Mary's case is that parents often have no way of finding out which pediatric surgery programs have high mortality rates. To remedy the situation, some insurance companies are now telling parents which hospitals have the best records and even paying the travel expenses of families that live far from the best facilities. Unfortunately, Medicaid does not yet offer this information or aid to parents, but patient advocates are attempting to change that.

People who have been harmed by a faulty surgical performance may want to speak with a medical malpractice attorney to see what recourse may be available. The filing of a claim could in some cases produce a settlement offer from the negligent health care practitioner or facility.