Effects of minimally invasive and traditional surgeries on the quality of life of children with congenital heart disease: a retrospective propensity score-matched study

BACKGROUND: The focus of clinical care after treating congenital heart disease (CHD) has shifted from saving patients’ lives to improving their quality of life. This study aimed to examine the influence of minimally invasive and traditional surgeries on the quality of life of children with CHD. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. A total of 459 children aged 2–18 years with CHD treated at Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from July 2016 to June 2017 were enrolled, among whom 219 underwent minimally invasive surgery and 240 traditional surgery. The quality of life of children with CHD after surgery was reported by the patients’ parents. We applied propensity score matching to correct for confounding factors and conducted multiple linear regression analysis to examine the related effects of minimally invasive and traditional surgeries on the quality of life of children with CHD. RESULTS: The scores of problems related to perceived physical appearance in children undergoing minimally invasive surgery was higher than those in those undergoing traditional surgery (p = 0.004). Different treatment modes were independent influencing factors for problems related to perceived physical appearance in children with CHD. There was no significant difference in average treatment effect scores of children undergoing different surgical procedures in other quality of life dimensions (problems related to cardiac symptoms and their treatment, drug treatment, anxiety regarding treatment, cognitive psychology, and communication), suggesting that different operation modes were not independent influencing factors for these related problems. CONCLUSION: Compared with traditional surgery, minimally invasive surgery can significantly improve the physical appearance perception scores of children with CHD after surgery. Therefore, minimally invasive surgery can improve the quality of life of children with CHD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-021-02978-5.