Cardiac Surgery and the Brain

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Abstract
Neurologic deficits remain the most dreaded of complications after cardiac surgery. In the past, analyses of outcomes after cardiac surgery have concentrated on survival. Now that techniques of myocardial protection and cardiopulmonary bypass have been refined, emphasis is being placed on improving the quality of life after cardiac surgery1. Neurologic defects have the greatest impact on this variable. The study by Newburger and associates2 in this issue of the Journal is the largest and most careful prospective study to date documenting neurologic sequelae in pediatric patients requiring complex surgical repairs. This study is not only valuable as a comparison . . .