OBJECTIVE: Injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve can lead to significant morbidity during congenital cardiac surgery. The objective is to expand on the limited understanding of the severity and recovery of this iatrogenic condition. DESIGN: A six-year retrospective review of all congenital heart operations at a single institution from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013 was performed. All @entity1 with documented @entity3746 on laryngoscopic examination comprised the study cohort. Evaluation of time to vocal cord recovery and need for further surgical intervention was the primary focus. RESULTS: The incidence of post-operative @entity3746 was 1.1% (32 out of 3036 @entity1 ; 95% confidence interval: 0.7-1.5%). The majority were left-sided injuries (71%). Overall rate of recovery was 61% with a median time of 10  months in those who recovered, and a total follow up of 46  months. Due to feeding complications, 45% of @entity1 required @entity5274 after the injury, and these @entity1 were found to have longer duration of post-operative days of intubation (median 10 vs. 5  days, p  =  0.03), ICU length of stay (50 vs. 8  days, p  =  0.002), and hospital length of stay (92 vs. 41  days, p  =  0.01). No pre-operative variables were identified as predictive of recovery or need for gastrostomy placement. CONCLUSION: Recurrent @entity13587 is a serious complication of congenital heart surgery that impacts post-operative morbidity, in some cases leading to a need for further intervention, in particular, @entity5274 placement. A prospective, multi-center study is needed to fully evaluate factors that influence severity and time to recovery.

Outcomes of recurrent XXXX following congenital heart surgery: A contemporary experience.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity5274 :: ('MESH:D005184', 'Disease') :: ['gastrostomy tube'] @entity3746 :: ('MESH:D014826', 'Disease') :: ['vocal cord paralysis'] @entity13587 :: ('MESH:D061224', 'Disease') :: ['laryngeal nerve injury']
@entity13587 :: (MESH:D061224,Disease) :: ['laryngeal nerve injury']
