The "Commando" Procedure in Colombia: Early and Mid-Term Outcomes From the Largest Latin American Series.

Endocarditis was the most frequent indication for the Commando procedure, accounting for the majority of cases.

• A total of 37 patients were included in the study.
• Endocarditis was the cause in 29 cases (78.4%).
• The remaining 8 cases (21.6%) comprised the non-endocarditis group.
• The study was conducted at a single tertiary referral centre in northeastern Colombia between July 2018 and June 2025.

Prior cardiac surgery was significantly more common in the non-endocarditis group compared to the endocarditis group.

• Prior cardiac surgery occurred in 100% of non-endocarditis patients versus 58.6% of endocarditis patients.
• This difference was statistically significant (P = .036).
• The median age was 54 years (IQR 43-68), which was comparable between groups.

Operative mortality was 13.5%, and all deaths occurred in the endocarditis group.

• Operative mortality rate was 13.5% across all 37 patients.
• No operative deaths occurred in the non-endocarditis group.
• All operative deaths were confined to the endocarditis group (29 patients).

Kaplan-Meier estimated overall survival after the Commando procedure was 80.3% at 1 year and 59.2% at both 3 and 5 years.

• One-year overall survival was 80.3% (95% CI, 63.0-90.1).
• Survival at 3 years and 5 years was identical at 59.2%.
• One-year survival in the endocarditis group was 78.5% (95% CI, 58.1-89.8%).
• One-year survival in the non-endocarditis group was 87.50% (95% CI, 38.7-98.1%).

This study represents the largest Latin American series of the Commando procedure to date.

• The series included 37 patients from a single institution in Colombia.
• The study was a single-institution, retrospective analysis.
• The authors characterize their outcomes as comparable to high-volume centres in developed countries.
• The study period spanned July 2018 to June 2025.