title: The clinical outcome and quality of life following minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) through a limited anterior small thoracotomy has been shown to be a promising technique of surgical treatment for single or double vessel disease. Little is known about the Health-Related Quality Of Life (HRQOL) in this group of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The records of 75 consecutive patients who underwent MIDCAB procedure at Harefield Hospital between April 2000 and January 2002 were reviewed retrospectively. HRQOL assessment was planned in a cross-sectional design. Patients were contacted by telephone to conduct a semi-structured interview and were sent two questionnaires: the Short Form health survey (SF-36) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no in-hospital death. Patients stayed in the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) for 11.56 +/- 4.55 hours and stayed in hospital for 3 +/- 2.34 days. None of the study patients had perioperative myocardial infarction (MI) or neurological complications including permanent and transient strokes. We were able to contact all the 75 patients by telephone and they also completed the SF-36 and HADS. The SF-36 scores were compared to an age-matched group of normal British people. The MIDCAB group had an excellent general health perception compared to the normal group (p < 0.001), but similar scores otherwise. The HADS scores showed that only 1 patient (1.3%) had mild depression, 5 patients (6.7%) had mild anxiety, and 2 patients (2.6%) had moderate anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MIDCAB is a safe surgical treatment and provides excellent clinical and HRQOL outcomes.
authors.affiliation: The National Heart and Lung Institute, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Harefield Hospital, Middlesex UB9 6JH, UK.
authors.forename: Sharif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Ruzzeh
authors.forename: Waseem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mazrani
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wray
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Modine
authors.forename: Koki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ilsley
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amrani
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome