CORONARY-ARTERY BYPASS-GRAFTING WITHOUT C ARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS - ANGIOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF A PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) without cardiopulmo nary bypass has been proposed to decrease morbid events related to the circuit and the blood pump. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate quantitatively cor onary anastomoses with CABG without cardiopulmonary bypass. SETTING: B etween February and December 1996, 19 patients underwent CABG, through a median sternotomy in 12 patients and an anterior minithoracotomy in seven patients. Twenty internal thoracic artery grafts and seven saph enous vein grafts were studied by quantitative angiography in the imme diate postoperative period (4 +/- 2 days). Diameters of native coronar y arteries and grafts were analyzed by computer. PATIENTS: Patients av eraged 57 +/- 8 years of age, with triple vessel coronary disease in t hree patients, double vessel disease in nine patients and single vesse l disease in seven patients. Twelve patients underwent a single thorac ic artery graft to the left anterior descending artery and seven patie nts underwent a double graft to the anterior descending and the right coronary artery.