The advancement of<unk>  and cardiopulmonary bypass techniques has greatly reduced the mortality rates of these procedures. For instance, repairs of congenital heart defects are currently estimated to have 4–6% mortality rates. A major concern with<unk>  is neurological damage. Stroke occurs in 2–3% of all people undergoing<unk> , and the rate is higher in patients with other risk factors for stroke. A more subtle complication attributed to cardiopulmonary bypass is postperfusion syndrome, sometimes called "pumphead". The neurocognitive symptoms of postperfusion syndrome were initially thought to be permanent, but turned out to be transient, with no permanent neurological impairment. In order to assess the performance of surgical units and individual surgeons, a popular risk model has been created called the EuroSCORE. It takes a number of health factors from a patient and, using precalculated logistic regression coefficients, attempts to quantify the probability that they will survive to discharge. Within the United Kingdom, the EuroSCORE was used to give a breakdown of all cardiothoracic surgery centres and to indicate whether the units and their individuals surgeons performed within an acceptable range. The results are available on the Care Quality Commission website. Another important source of complications are the neuropsychological and psychopathologic changes following open-heart surgery. One example is Skumin syndrome, described by Victor Skumin in 1978, which is a "cardioprosthetic psychopathological syndrome" associated with mechanical heart valve implants and characterized by irrational fear, anxiety, depression, sleep disorder, and weakness. Risk reduction Pharmacological and non-pharmacological prevention approaches may reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation after an operation and reduce the length of hospital stays, however there is no evidence that this improves mortality. Non-pharmacologic approaches Preoperative physical therapy may reduce postoperative pulmonary complications, such as pneumonia and atelectasis, in patients undergoing elective<unk>  and may decrease the length of hospital stay by more than three days on average. There is evidence that quitting smoking at least four weeks before surgery may reduce the risk of postoperative complications. Pharmacological approaches Beta-blocking medication is sometimes prescribed during<unk> . There is some low certainty evidence that this perioperative blockade of beta-adrenergic receptors may reduce the incidence of atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias in patients undergoing<unk> .
Cardiac surgery
Dental surgery
Diabetes medication
Digestive system surgery
Dental emergency
Colorectal surgery
Dietary supplement
Cardiology diagnostic tests and procedures