At Driscoll Children’s Hospital, our care for children with heart conditions begins even before birth with a diagnosis in utero. This care extends throughout childhood to adulthood and beyond. Driscoll Children’s Hospital established Cardiothoracic Surgery Services soon after it opened its doors in 1953. In 1984, Driscoll’s Dr. James Duff performed the first successful neonatal arterial switch in Texas.
The Heart Center at Driscoll Children’s Hospital began a renewed pursuit of excellence in late 2019 under the new leadership of Dr. Stephen Langley, Medical Director and Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. We believe that low mortality and complication rates, and a short length of stay, are cornerstones of program quality.
Conditions We Treat
Our Heart Center manages all types of complex congenital cardiac defects including:
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)
- Aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve dysfunction
- Single ventricle heart disease
- Transposition of the great arteries
- Atrioventricular septal defect
- Tetralogy of Fallot
Driscoll Children's Outcome Data
At Driscoll Children’s Hospital, our care for children with heart conditions begins even before birth with a diagnosis in utero. This care extends throughout childhood to adulthood and beyond.
The Heart Center at Driscoll Children’s Hospital began a pursuit of excellence in late 2019 under the new leadership of Dr. Stephen Langley, Medical Director and Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.
We believe that low mortality and complication rates, and a short length of stay are cornerstones of program quality. Outcomes for patients with congenital heart disease across the country are collected by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). Data is subdivided into five different groups depending on the level of risk. STAT 1 includes the lower risk conditions, STAT 5 the highest. This allows us to benchmark our outcomes with national data.
Mortality/Survival – January 2022 – December 2025
The overall survival (adjusted for risk) at The Driscoll Heart Center is over 98%.
| Category | Number of Driscoll Patients | STS/National Mortality | Driscoll Mortality | Driscoll Survival Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STAT 1 (low risk) | 340 | 0.6% | 0.3% | 99.7% |
| STAT 2 | 167 | 2.0% | 3.0% | 97.0% |
| STAT 3 | 83 | 3.3% | 1.3% | 98.7% |
| STAT 4 | 147 | 7.1% | 5.2% | 94.8% |
| STAT 5 (high risk) | 71 | 14.6% | 3.8% | 96.2% |
| All Patients | 808 | 2.6% | 1.5% | 98.5% |
Our team has been very busy caring for the smallest, youngest, and highest-risk patients. Of our 808 patients, 60% were either neonates or infants—compared to 48% nationally. Furthermore, our team cares for 80% more patients in the risk category STAT 4 or 5 compared to the national average. In fact, 9% of our surgeries fall into the absolute highest-risk category (STAT 5), which is more than double the national STS average of 4%.
Length of Stay
Post surgical length of stay (LOS) in hospital is expressed as a median in days. Driscoll Heart Center has a notably shorter length of stay than the national average. This is the result of highly specialized diagnosis, collaborative presurgical planning, a quality technical repair and exceptional post operative care. We believe the length of time it takes a child to recover after cardiac surgery is a surrogate marker for the quality of the entire heart center.
| Category | Number of Driscoll Patients | National LOS | Driscoll LOS | Driscoll LOS vs National Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STAT 1 (low risk) | 340 | 9 | 3 | 6 days less |
| STAT 2 | 167 | 15 | 6 | 9 days less |
| STAT 3 | 83 | 22 | 9 | 13 days less |
| STAT 4 | 147 | 34 | 10 | 24 days less |
| STAT 5 (high risk) | 71 | 58 | 29 | 29 days less |
| All Patients | 808 | N/A | 6 | Median Driscoll LOS: 6 days |
Cumulatively these 808 patients stayed in hospital after their surgery a total of 10,209 days (27 years) less than an equivalent average 808 patients in the national database.
| Selected Procedures | National LOS | Driscoll LOS | Driscoll LOS vs National Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atrioventricular Septal Defect | 17 | 6 | 11 days less |
| Coarctation | 13 | 4 | 9 days less |
| Fontan | 13 | 6 | 7 days less |
| Glenn | 13 | 6 | 7 days less |
| Norwood | 52 | 20 | 32 days less |
| Tetralogy of Fallot | 13 | 4 | 9 days less |
| VSD | 10 | 3 | 7 days less |
Conditions We Treat
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS)
- Aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve dysfunction
- Single ventricle heart disease
- Transposition of the great arteries
- Atrioventricular septal defect
- Tetralogy of Fallot
Driscoll Children's Surgery Center
Visit our surgery hub for information on all surgeries preformed at Driscoll Children's Hospital and Clinics.
Important Patient Surgery Information
In the Hands of Experts
Sidebar
Heart Center
Seamless Specialist Care
Contact any of our specialty clinics to schedule a convenient one-day visit to all your child’s specialists.
Call 361-694-5000 or your
specialty clinic.
Cardiothoracic Surgery Locations
Driscoll Children's Hospital - Corpus Christi
Address
Phone
Hours
Phone
Fax
Miracle Stories
Together, Against All Odds
A Forever Family
Every Step of the Way
Getting Back on Track
