Does off-pump coronary surgery endanger long term survival?
In this issue Ibrahim and co-authors report on technical hazards of off-pump (without heart lung machine) coronary surgery 1. Their findings are in line with meta-analyses of randomized trials which indicate that under-grafting and graft-failures are more common after off-pump than after standard operations. The risk that the objectives of coronary bypass surgery are endangered is discussed in relation to evidence based medicine. A moratorium is suggested until conclusive data are available.
Ekroth
Rolf
R
Odén
Anders
A
Ståhle
Elisabeth
E
Werkö
Lars
L
D047549:Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors