title: [Myocardial revascularization through small left anterior minithoracotomy].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the results of myocardial revascularization through small left anterior thoracotomy utilizing the left thoracic internal artery (LTIA) to left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) without cardiopulmonary bypass, in order to simplify the operative procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  From September/95 till August/96 we operated on 45 patients with lesions in LAD or LAD and diagonal arteries that were revascularized with an anastomoses of the LTIA to LAD or LAD and diagonal as composite grafts, through left anterior small thoracotomy. In the second postoperative day 43 out of 45 patients were restudied with arteriography and/or transthoracic echocardiography that showed excellent patency in 39 of them.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six patients with obstruction or stenoses were reoperated through median sternotomy without complications. We did not observe flow through intercostal arteries in these restudies except in cases of obstructed anastomosis, showing that it is not necessary to ligate these branches. We observed too, excellent correlation between angiographic patterns and diastolic flows detected in the thoracic internal artery with transthoracic echocardiography.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These initial results suggest that this approach may be good to a subset of patients with lesions in LAD and/or diagonal arteries and if associated with complementary angioplasties of other coronary arteries may be the best choice of invasive treatment of coronary insufficiency in a near future.
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina-UNIFESP e UNICOR, São Paulo.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Teles
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Aguiar
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrizzo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buffolo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery*; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization / Q000379:methods*; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000379:methods*