title: Four-year outcome of OPCAB no-touch with total arterial Y-graft: making the best treatment a daily practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A retrospective, single-center 4-year clinical study of the off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting no-touch technique with arterial conduits (Y-graft) was compared with the Syntax trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred consecutive patients ("all-comers") who underwent coronary surgery between 2004 and 2008 at the Thorax Center Twente (TCT) formed the study group. The primary end point was in-hospital and 12-month major cardiovascular or cerebrovascular event (MACCE). Event rates of MACCE were based on life tables, and overall MACCE was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In-hospital mortality was 0.2%. Cumulative 1-year survival was 98.2%, and freedom from MACCE was 94.7% +/- 1.1%. Cumulative 4-year survival and freedom from MACCE were 91.2% +/- 2.4% and 82.1% +/- 3.0%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the patients of the TCT group and the surgical arm of the Syntax trial. Repeat revascularization, MACCE, and symptomatic graft occlusion in the TCT group were significantly lower than in the Syntax trial. The event rate of myocardial infarction and all-cause death in the TCT group were significantly lower than those of the percutaneous coronary intervention arm of the Syntax trial. There was a clear trend toward a reduction of the event rate of stroke in the TCT group (0.8%) compared with the surgical arm of the Syntax trial (2.2%). There was no significant difference of stroke rate between the TCT group and the percutaneous coronary intervention arm of the Syntax trial.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A state-of-the-art surgical technique such as off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting no-touch can further improve the advantage of surgical treatment with respect to percutaneous coronary intervention. Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting no-touch surgery can be the treatment of choice for patients with three-vessel disease and left main stenosis.
authors.affiliation: Thoraxcenter Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wouter Bas
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Halbersma
authors.forename: Sara Camilla
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Arrigoni
authors.forename: Gianclaudio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mecozzi
authors.forename: Jan Gerard
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Grandjean
authors.forename: Arie Pieter
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kappetein
authors.forename: Job
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Palen
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zijlstra
authors.forename: Massimo Alessandro
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mariani
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000401:mortality; D001158:Arteries / Q000637:transplantation*; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D047549:Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump / Q000379:methods*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D009426:Netherlands; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D012086:Reoperation / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015607:Stents