 Although the first outpatient review following cardiac surgery is conventionally scheduled for six weeks after hospital discharge, there is no evidence to support this practice. Thirty-day mortality and morbidity rates, which are now widely used as indicators of the quality of surgical care, reveal rates that are higher than corresponding in-hospital rates. Secondly, the rates for mortality and morbidity occurring up to 6 weeks after surgery are not known. The objectives of our study are to determine the postoperative mortality and morbidity rates in the 6-week interval between hospital discharge and the first planned specialist review after cardiac surgery, and to assess the level of patient satisfaction with current practice. 