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<p>While the two local hospitals that perform cardiac surgery generally had outcomes within expected ranges, Wilkes-Barre General did have higher-than-expected readmission rates for procedures involving valve replacement, according to a new report.</p><p>The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council released the report, titled &#8220;Cardiac Surgery in Pennsylvania,&#8221; reviewing outcomes for 29,578 adult patients who underwent coronary arterial bypass surgery or heart valve surgery between Jan. 1, 2014, and March 31, 2016.</p><p>In a written statement, Wilkes-Barre General spokeswoman Renita Fennick pointed out that, since March 2016, &#8220;our cardiothoracic surgery department is under new leadership, and the surgeon with the highest readmission rate no longer practices at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.&#8221;</p><p>The data is adjusted to account for high-risk patients, including those under 30 years old, who left the hospital against medical advice or who were clinically complex cases.</p><p>The report includes in-hospital mortality rates and 30-day readmission rates for bypass-only, valve-only and combination surgeries. It also has average hospital charges.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre General and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township are the only two Luzerne County hospitals listed.</p><p>Strictly by the numbers, Wilkes-Barre General looks like the better place to get bypass surgery if it doesn&#8217;t involve valve surgery. More bypass-only procedures were done there &#8212; 290 compared to 216 at Geisinger Wyoming Valley &#8212; for considerably less money. Average fees totaled $185,909 at General compared to $235,242 at Geisinger.</p><p>The mortality rate was lower at General, 1.3 percent compared to 2.3 percent at Geisinger, though both were within each hospital&#8217;s respective &#8220;expected range.&#8221;</p><p>But Geisinger does more valve procedures, 173 total compared to 62 at Wilkes-Barre General. And it has a lower mortality rate, 4 percent compared to 4.8 percent. The fee difference is narrow, with Geisinger averaging $273,887 to Wilkes-Barre General&#8217;s $262,674.</p><p>Readmission rates within 30 days of bypass-only surgery are nearly the same at both facilities, 10.1 percent at Geisinger and 9.9 percent at General. But the story is different for valve surgery.</p><p>At Geisinger Wyoming Valley, the readmission rate for all valve procedures was 10 percent. At Wilkes-Barre General, it was 25.5 percent.</p><p>The fact that Wilkes-Barre General does fewer than half the valve procedures done at Geisinger does mean numeric changes can have a bigger impact on percentages. In fact, the number of valve-only procedures at General was so low &#8212; 20 &#8212; the mortality and readmission rates were not reported.</p><p>The statement from Fennick noted &#8220;in the past year, our Heart &amp; Vascular Institute has expanded its services and procedures, and we feel confident that our current outcomes are much more favorable.&#8221;</p><p>The statement pointed to the opening of a valve clinic and &#8212; in partnership with Regional Hospital of Scranton, owned by the same for-profit company Commonwealth Health &#8212; the addition of transcatheter aortic valve replacement. &#8220;This minimally invasive procedure repairs the valve without performing open-heart surgery.&#8221;</p><p>Statewide, the news was positive. The report compared bypass in-hospital mortality rates to data from 1994, showing a decline from 3.2 percent to 1.5 percent. It also compared valve mortality rates from 2005, when the rate was 5.2 percent, to the new data, with a statewide rate of 3 percent.</p><p>Readmission rates have also dropped for both bypass and valve procedures. In 2002-03 the readmission rate for bypass surgery was 12.8 percent; in 2014-15 it was 10.6 percent.</p><p>In 2005-06, valve replacement procedures resulted in 17.8 percent readmission statewide, while the rate was 13.3 percent in the new data.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_cardiac-surgery-1-31-17.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">FOR WEB</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_cardiac-surgery-1-31-17.jpg</photo0><caption0>FOR WEB</caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_permits02CMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Construction was underway in December for expansion at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. The hospital has higher-than-expected readmission rates for procedures involving valve replacement, according to a new report </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_permits02CMYK.jpg</photo1><caption1>Construction was underway in December for expansion at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. The hospital has higher-than-expected readmission rates for procedures involving valve replacement, according to a new report </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>WB General numbershigher than expectedfor heart valve surgery</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Report: WB General has high readmission rates for heart valve replacement