Minimally invasive single-vessel coronary artery bypass with the internal thoracic artery and early postoperative angiography: midterm results of a prospective study in 120 consecutive patients

Minimally invasive and robotic coronary artery bypass grafting-a 25-year review

During the mid-1990s cardiac surgery started exploring minimally invasive methods for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and has over a 25-year period developed highly differentiated and less traumatic operations. Instead of the traditional sternotomy mini-incisions on the chest or ports are placed, surgery on the beating heart is applied, sophisticated remote access heart lung machine systems as well as videoscopic units are available, and robotic technology enables completely endoscopic approaches. This review describes these methods, reports on the cumulative intra- and postoperative outcome of these procedures, and gives an integrated view on what less invasive coronary bypass surgery can achieve. A total of 74 patient series published on the topic between 1996 and 2019 were reviewed. Six main versions of minimal access and robotically assisted CABG were applied in 11,135 patients. On average 1.3±0.6 grafts were placed and the operative time was 3 hours 42 min ± 1 hour 15 min. The procedures were carried out with a hospital mortality of 1.0% and a stroke rate of 0.6%. The revision rate for bleeding was 2.5% and a renal failure rate of 0.9% was noted. Wound infections occurred at a rate of 1.2% and postoperative hospital stay was 5.6±2.2 days. It can be concluded that less invasive and robotically assisted versions of coronary bypass grafting are carried out with an adequate safety level while surgical trauma is significantly reduced.

Preoperative Insertion of an Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Improved the Prognosis of High-Risk Patients Undergoing Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

This study investigated the efficacy and safety of preoperative insertion of an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in high-risk coronary atherosclerotic disease patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB). A total of 232 patients were recruited to the study, of whom 107 underwent percutaneous insertion of an IABP prior to OPCAB. The remaining 125 patients underwent OPCAB alone. Pre-, peri- and postoperative parameters were compared between the two groups. Preoperative insertion of an IABP was associated with a shorter stay in intensive care, decreased incidence of postoperative dialysis and acute heart failure, and a reduction in postoperative mortality compared with OPCAB alone. There were no between-group differences in terms of haematocrit level, number of distal anastomoses, volume of postoperative drainage or incidence of reoperation for bleeding and postoperative stroke/cerebrovascular accident. In conclusion, preoperative insertion of an IABP improved the prognosis of high-risk CAD patients undergoing OPCAB.

Coronary artery bypass grafting without full sternotomy

Coronary artery bypass grafting is performed without full sternotomy in selected patients because it is less invasive. Left internal thoracic artery-left anterior descending artery bypass (LITA-LAD bypass) via a small left anterior thoracotomy is a well established procedure, which achieves good graft patency with low mortality and morbidity rates. Multiple revascularization is possible with a limited lateral thoracotomy or L-figure approach. Axillary-coronary bypass and right gastroepiploic artery-right coronary artery bypass (RGEA-RCA bypass) are alternative methods, especially for redo surgery, in selected patients.

Long-Term Results of the Endoscopic Atraumatic Coronary Artery Bypass

BACKGROUND

This retrospective study was undertaken to determine the long-term angiographic patency and clinical outcomes of the endoscopic atraumatic coronary artery bypass (endoACAB) procedure.

METHODS

Between November 1997 and March 2005, 607 consecutive patients underwent an endoACAB consisting of (1) unilateral or bilateral manual, thoracoscopic internal mammary artery (IMA) harvesting, (2) creation of a needle-directed access port in the thoracic soft tissue (non-rib-spreading), (3) cardiac positioning and stabilization using port-based instrumentation, and (4) off-pump, direct-vision, hand-sewn anastomoses to the left anterior descending (LAD), diagonal, obtuse marginal, or main right coronary arteries, or a combination. Mean follow-up time was 18.0 +/- 16.0 months (range, 2.0 to 85.7 months).

RESULTS

The IMA was used to graft the LAD in all cases. A total of 721 anastomoses were constructed using 636 conduits. Thirty-day mortality was 1.0% (6/607). A total of 379 (62.4%) had coronary angiography after operation at a mean of 18.4 +/- 17.0 months. The overall patency for the LIMA to LAD was FitzGibbon A, 95.2% (324/340), and FitzGibbon A and B, 98.5% (335/340). At 5 years, event-free survival was 92% +/- 2.4%.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical outcome and angiographic patency of grafting the LAD with the LIMA off pump through a non-rib-spreading incision compares favorably with the reported data of arrested heart grafting through a median sternotomy. The endoACAB offers an excellent alternative for patients with LAD disease as a stand-alone procedure, a multivessel grafting procedure in selected patients, or as part of a hybrid procedure in conjunction with a percutaneous intervention.

Revascularization of Left Anterior Descending Artery With Drug-Eluting Stents: Comparison With Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

BACKGROUND

The proximal left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a challenging area for percutaneous interventions; therefore, coronary artery bypass grafting is often considered and sometimes performed even in patients with single-vessel disease involving the proximal LAD. This study compares mid-term results of LAD revascularization using drug-eluting stents (Cypher) with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB).

METHODS

From May 2002 to December 2003, 376 consecutive patients underwent myocardial revascularization of the LAD, 272 by Cypher and 104 by MIDCAB. After matching for age, sex, and extent of coronary artery disease, two groups of 83 patients each were used to compare the two revascularization modalities. The groups were similar; however, ejection fraction of less than 0.35 was more prevalent in the MIDCAB group and prior percutaneous coronary intervention in the Cypher group.

RESULTS

Thirty-day mortality was 1.1% in the MIDCAB and 0% in the Cypher group. Mean follow-up was 22.5 months. Two late cardiac deaths occurred in the MIDCAB group and one in the Cypher group (p = NS). Angina returned in 35% of the Cypher group and in 8.4% of the MIDCAB group (p < 0.001). There were 14 (16.8%) reinterventions in the Cypher compared with three (3.6%) in the surgical group (p = 0.005). Cox proportional hazard model showed that assignment to the Cypher group was the only independent predictor of reangina (hazard ratio [HR], 6.17, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.46 to 15.4). Treatment with Cypher was also an independent predictor of reintervention (HR 8.26, 95% CI, 1.68 to 40).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite improved results of percutaneous interventions with Cypher to the LAD, mid-term clinical outcome of patients treated with MIDCAB was better.

Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life after Coronary Revascularization

The use of patient-oriented outcomes, in particular health-related quality if life (HRQOL), to evaluate coronary revascularization is continuously increasing. Current data underline that patients undergoing conventional CABG show a tremendous improvement of HRQOL status as early as 3 months postoperatively. There seems to be no clear benefit concerning HRQOL for off-pump coronary surgery versus conventional CABG. The benefits of minimal invasive CABG via mini-thoracotomy are compromised by increased incidence of pain during the immediate postoperative period. Totally endoscopic approaches seem to be more effective with regard to pain reduction and resume of every day activities. Compared to catheter-based interventions there is evidence that conventional CABG offers significant advantages over PCI. The influence of drug-eluting stents and newer surgical techniques on HRQOL remains to be determined. Inclusion of HRQOL data in CABG and PCI databases can play a central role in order to identify patient groups who benefit the most from each revascularization strategy.

Comparison of off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in midterm results

OBJECTIVE

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) has become a procedure of choice for surgical treatment of coronary artery disease. Although early advantages of OPCAB were confirmed in comparison with conventional on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), late cardiac complications are still controversial. We examined midterm results of OPCAB compared with standard CABG.

METHODS

Between July 1997 and April 2002, 736 consecutive patients who underwent isolated CABG were retrospectively reviewed. The OPCAB group (Group I) comprised 357 patients (49%), and the on-pump CABG group (Group II) 379 patients (51%). Their preoperative, intraoperative, and follow-up data were analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean number of distal anastomoses and the early graft patency were not greatly different between the two groups. The actuarial survival rate at 3 years was not significantly different between Group I (98.3%) and Group II (98.2%) (p = 0.71). The frequency of cardiac events was 4.2%/patient-year in Group I and 2.6%/patient-year in Group II (p = 0.12). The actuarial event free rates were not different between the two groups (p = 0.61). The cardiac event free rates at 3 years were significantly (p = 0.011) higher in patients with complete revascularization (96.7%) than without complete revascularization in Group I (69.2%) and in Group II (92.7% versus 85.9%, p = 0.026).

CONCLUSIONS

Midterm clinical outcome in OPCAB is as good as conventional on-pump CABG. Incomplete revascularization caused cardiac events more frequently than complete revascularization both in OPCAB and on-pump CABG in the intermediate follow-up.