Multivessel off-pump revascularization in patients with significant left main coronary artery stenosis: early and midterm outcome analysis.

BACKGROUND: The presence of significant left main stenosis (> or =50%) has been considered a relative contraindication to the use of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) stemming from well-documented hemodynamic perturbations during the displacement of the heart. We examined our experience with patients with critical left main stenosis (LMS) to assess the safety and feasibility of OPCAB in this subgroup. METHODS: Our prospectively updated database was queried to identify all patients with severe left main disease who underwent isolated coronary revascularization between January 1, 1999 and May 31, 2002. This query yielded 234 on-pump and 420 off-pump patients with significant LMS whose clinical information was retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The groups were well matched with regard to gender, left ventricular function, surgical priority, and severity of angina. The conventional coronary artery bypass (CABG) group was significantly younger than the OPCAB group and had a higher incidence of a previous myocardial infarction. Patients in the CABG cohort were more likely than OPCAB patients to remain ventilated after 24 hours, require placement of intraoperative or postoperative intraaortic balloon pump, or suffer from postoperative renal failure. There was a decrease in mortality (6.4% vs. 1.9%; p = 0.006) when CPB was eliminated. Intermediate term survival analysis revealed a significant survival benefit in the off-pump group (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Multivessel off-pump revascularization in patients with severe left main disease is a safe and effective alternative to conventional bypass grafting and conveys a survival benefit.

Is off-pump revascularization better for patients with non-dialysis-dependent renal insufficiency?

BACKGROUND: Renal dysfunction is a well-recognized complication following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Coronary revascularization without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been shown to minimize renal injury in patients with normal preoperative renal function who undergo elective procedures. The purpose of this study was to define the effect of an off-pump revascularization strategy on the incidence of postoperative renal failure and survival of patients with preexisting renal dysfunction. METHODS: From January 1, 1999, to December 1, 2002, a total of 371 patients were identified as having a preoperative creatinine concentration greater than or equal to 1.5 mg/dL. This number included 291 patients who did not need hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis to support renal function. These patients were subdivided into those undergoing traditional CABG with CPB (103 patients) and those undergoing off-pump revascularization (188 patients) whose demographic, operative, and outcome information was retrospectively reviewed and compared. RESULTS: The off-pump cohort was older than the on-pump cohort (70 +/- 9.6 versus 66 +/- 10.9 years; P =.002), had a lower prevalence of previous myocardial infarction (35% versus 50%; P =.008), and had a modestly higher mean left ventricular ejection fraction (0.47 +/- 0.01 versus 0.43 +/- 0.01; P =.017). Otherwise the groups were well matched. The mean preoperative serum creatinine and creatinine clearance values were not significantly different (1.8 +/- 0.5 versus 1.9 +/- 0.6 mg/dL [ P =.372] and 45.1 +/- 15.5 versus 46.8 +/- 17.2 mL/min [ P =.376] for the off-pump and on-pump cohorts, respectively). There was a significant reduction in postoperative renal failure (17% versus 9% of patients; P =.020) and need for new dialysis (10% versus 3% of patients; P =.022) when CPB was eliminated. Intermediate-term survival analysis revealed a survival benefit for the off-pump group (70% versus 57%) at 42 months, although this value did not reach statistical significance ( P =.143). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that patients with preoperative non-dialysis-dependent renal insufficiency have more favorable outcome when revascularization is done off pump. Avoidance of CPB results in (1) a reduction in the incidence of postoperative renal failure; (2) a reduction in the need for new dialysis; and (3) improved in-hospital and midterm survival.