Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in Japan during 2003: annual report by The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery.

The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery has conducted annual surveys of thoracic surgery to reveal the statistics of the number of procedures according to the operative category throughout the country since 1986. Here we have summarized the results from our annual survey of thoracic surgery performed during 2003. The incidence of hospital mortality was added to this survey to determine the nationwide status that could be useful not only for surgeons to compare their work with that of others, but also for the association to gain a better understanding of present problems as well as future prospects. Thirty-day mortality (sometimes termed operative mortality) is death within 30 days of operation regardless of the patient's geographic location. Thirty-day mortality includes death within 30 days of operation even though the patient is discharged from the hospital within 30 days of operation. Hospital mortality is death within any time interval after operation if the patient is not discharged from the hospital. Hospital-to-hospital transfer is not considered discharge; transfer to a nursing home or a rehabilitation unit is considered hospital discharge unless the patient subsequently dies of complications of the operation (the definitions of terms are based on the published guidelines of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (Edmunds LH, et al. Ann Thorac Surg 1996; 62: 932-5)). Thoracic surgery was classified into three categories as cardiovascular, general thoracic and esophageal surgery, and the pertinent data were examined and analyzed in each group. Access to the computerized data is offered to all members of this association. We honor and value your continued kind support.