The University of Florida heart surgery program at Shands Jacksonville has earned a three-star rating as being among the top 12 percent of programs in the United States.

According to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the program earned its high marks in various quality care indicators such as operative mortality, processes of care and avoidance of postoperative complications. The three-star rating is the highest standard set by STS.

"Across the country there is an unprecedented call for accountability," said Fred Edwards, M.D., chief of the UF Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Shands Jacksonville. "The STS rating system is a statistically sophisticated technique used to determine the net impact of all the important performance measures in cardiac surgery."

The STS gathers its data from a national adult cardiac surgery database that it maintains. The database is considered the most comprehensive tool for comparing cardiac surgery results among heart surgeons.

Surgeons in the UF Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery are trained in surgical procedures involving the heart, lung and chest.

"The rating is an assurance to our patients that when they choose us for heart surgery, they are receiving the absolute best care," said Harry D’Agostino, M.D., an associate professor of surgery with the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville.