L. Noyez et al., EXPERIENCE AND EARLY RESULTS OF 2ND REOPERATIONS FOR CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE - SHOULD PATENT VEIN GRAFTS BE REPLACED DURING REOPERATION, Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, 107(3), 1994, pp. 684-689
Reoperation for coronary artery disease has become a routine procedure
; however, a second reoperation is exceptional. In this report we desc
ribe our experience with 16 patients undergoing a second reoperation f
or coronary atherosclerosis. The absence of operative mortality is cer
tainly related to the patient selection. The number of patients is sti
ll too small to draw major conclusions. Striking, however, is that the
first reoperation was usually done for angina because of progression
of atherosclerosis in the native coronary system and the second reoper
ation was done because of graft failure. This experience supports the
idea that the replacement of old, even patent, venous grafts and the c
hoice of the best available conduits are of great importance at the fi
rst reoperation and may prevent a second reoperation.