OBJECTIVES Preservation of endothelial integrity during coronary artery bypass grafting is considered important for short- and long-term patency of the graft. In current literature there are controversial data about the safety of papaverine, a vasorelaxant widely used in coronary artery bypass grafting. Accordingly, we examined the immediate effects of papaverine on the endothelial morphology o...

et al. T graft with the right internal thoracic artery to left internal thoracic artery versus the left internal thoracic artery and radial artery: flow dynamics in the internal thoracic artery main stem. A new pattern for using both thoracic arteries to revascularize the entire heart: the pi-graft. Effects of heart rate on phasic Y-graft blood flow and flow reserve in patients with complete ar...

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE The safety and efficacy of drug-eluting stents reduce the need for surgical revascularization. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether paclitaxel or rapamycin-eluting stent are effective in avoiding the need for coronary-artery bypass grafting. METHODS This was a systematic review of the literature using the methodology of the Cochrane Collaboration...

Objective Deep sternal wound infection following coronary artery bypass grafting is a serious complication associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite the substantial impact of deep sternal wound infection, there is a lack of specific risk stratification tools to predict this complication after coronary artery bypass grafting. This study was undertaken to develop a specific pro...

OBJECTIVES Patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction have high mortality when kept in clinical treatment. Coronary artery bypass grafting can improve survival and the quality of life. Recently, revascularization without cardiopulmonary bypass has been presented as a viable alternative. The aim of this study is to compare patients with left ventricular ejection fract...

BACKGROUND Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting compared with coronary revascularization with cardiopulmonary bypass seems safe and results in about the same outcome in low-risk patients. Observational studies indicate that off-pump surgery may provide more benefit in high-risk patients. Our objective was to compare 30-day outcomes in high-risk patients randomized to coronary artery bypass ...

Objective: To describe the technique and evaluate the immediate results of using an ultrasonic scalpel in the skeletonization of the internal thoracic artery for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Methods: From January 2000 to October 2006, 188 patients were submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting with the internal thoracic artery skeletonized using an ultrasonic scalpel. Seventy-one...

Despite the remarkable advances in revascularization strategies made during the last decade, a significant proportion of patients are excluded from either percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting because of unsuitable coronary anatomy. Diffuse severe coronary artery disease, small vessel caliber, chronic total occlusions, or extremely calcified vessels are frequent ...

Mycotic aneurysms of the coronary arteries are extremely rare, with 15 cases reported. We report the successful treatment of a mycotic aneurysm of the left anterior descending coronary artery by coronary artery bypass grafting with aneurysm ligation and resection without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass.