title: Rationale for off-pump coronary revascularization to small branches--angiographic study of 1,283 anastomoses in 408 patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) has gained wide acceptance in tandem with the development of the stabilizer and associated operative techniques. However bypass grafting to the small branches of a beating heart is technically demanding and remains controversial. In the present study we evaluated the graft patency and quality of anastomoses to small coronary arteries by early postoperative angiography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between March 2000 and December 2002 a total of 1,328 anastomosed sites to coronary branches were studied angiographically in 404 patients representing 88.6% of all cases who underwent OPCAB in this period. The coronary artery branches were categorized as large (>1.5 mm, group L: 1,028 anastomoses sites) or small (< 1.5 mm, group S: 300 sites) by intraoperative measurement. As in situ grafts the internal thoracic artery (ITA) and the gastroepiploic artery (GEA) were used at 504 and 28 distal anastomosis sites respectively. The radial artery (RA) was used as a composite graft for 739 distal anastomosis sites. Sequential bypass grafting was performed at 388 anastomosis sites in side-to-side fashion. Arterial grafts were used in 96.1% of total bypass grafting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of male gender was 78.3% in group S and 87.2% in group L (p = 0.025). The ITA was used in 43.7% of group L and 18.3% of group S (p < 0.0001). The RA was used in 49.4% of group L and 77% of group S (p < 0.0001). The overall patency and stenosis free rates (FitzGibbon Type A) were 97.2% and 96.2%. Graft patency and stenosis free rates in group S (96.7% and 93.3%) were as good as those in group L (97.5% and 97.1%). In group S, the patency and stenosis free rates of SV grafts were 71.4% and 57.1%. On the other hand, those of ITA grafts were 100% and 98.3% (p = 0.53 vs. saphenous vein graft [SVG]) and RA grafts were 95.8% and 92.1% (p = 0.61 vs. SVG) respectively. In group S, the graft patency and stenosis free rates of bypass to the obtuse marginal (OM) (93.7% and 87.5%) were slightly lower than those to other implantation sites left anterior descending (LAD: 100% and 97.3%; PL: 96.5% and 92.3%; DI: 98.0% and 96%; PDA: 97.0% and 97.0%; right coronary artery [RCA]: 100% and 100%) although there was no statistical significance. The graft patency and stenosis free rates were slightly better with side-to-side anastomosis than with end-to-side anastomosis (side-to-side: 98.1% and 95.8% vs. end-to-side 96.3% and 86.3%) in group S.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OPCAB to small coronary artery branches with arterial grafts provided satisfactory graft patency and stenosis free rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, National Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Junjiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tagusari
authors.forename: Ko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bando
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niwaya
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Toshikatsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yagihara
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitamura
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D024405:Gastroepiploic Artery / Q000637:transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008323:Mammary Arteries / Q000637:transplantation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014654:Vascular Patency