Hy. Karagoz et al., Coronary artery bypass grafting in the conscious patient without endotracheal general anesthesia, ANN THORAC, 70(1), 2000, pp. 91-96
Citations number
28
Categorie Soggetti
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
Background. Over the past several years, considerable experience has accumu
lated in performing coronary anastomoses on the beating heart, and various
aspects of minimally invasive approaches have been simplified. In an attemp
t to further simplify and decrease the "invasiveness" of this procedure, pe
rforming this operation without endotracheal general anesthesia was deemed
feasible in certain subsets of patients.
Methods. Between October 1998 and June 1999, 5 patients underwent coronary
artery bypass grafting without endotracheal general anesthesia, using high
thoracic epidural block to construct extension grafts with a short segment
of radial artery, between the in situ left or right internal thoracic arter
ies and the left anterior descending (n = 4) or right coronary arteries (n
= 1). There were 2 female and 3 male patients, with a mean age of 67.4 +/-
8.3 years.
Results. The perioperative course of the patients was uneventful. There was
no perioperative morbidity or mortality. No patient was converted to gener
al anesthesia or to conventional operation. Control angiograms revealed pat
ent anastomoses in all patients. In 1 patient, spasm of the radial artery g
raft was observed that was relieved 3 weeks later spontaneously. Mean lengt
h of hospital stay was 2.2 +/- 0.4 days. All patients were symptom free and
returned to normal daily life at the first postoperative month.
Conclusions. Our initial experience confirms the feasibility of performing
coronary bypass grafting in the conscious patient without endotracheal gene
ral anesthesia. (Ann Thorac Surg 2000;70:91-6) (C) 2000 by The Society of T
horacic Surgeons.