OBJECTIVETo study the influence of anastomoses sequence on the hemodynamics in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and to investigate the strategy to stabilize the hemodynamics.

METHODSFrom March 2005 to March 2007, 67 patients with serious triple-vessel coronary artery lesions (male 45, female 22) with a age range from 44 to 81-years-old were enrolled for off-pump CABG. All the patients underwent left internal mammary artery-left anterior descending branch (LIMA-LAD) anastomose firstly, followed by the foreword anastomose of the other two vessels. According to the anastomose sequence of posterior descending branch (PDA) and obtuse marginal branch (OM), the patients were divided into three groups. Group I (n = 22) did the sequence of PDA-OM-aortic root (Ao). Group II (n = 14) did the sequence of Ao-PDA-OM. Group III (n = 31) did the sequence of Ao-OM-PDA. The hemodynamics markers, including heart rate (HR), central venous pressure (CVP), mean artery pressure (MAP), cardiac index (CI), left ventricular-stroke work index (LVSWI) and right ventricular stroke work index (RVSWI), were analyzed before LIMA-LAD anastomose to serve as baseline. And these markers were re-measured at LIMA-LAD anastomose, immediately after LIMA-LAD anastomose, at PDA anastomose and at OM anastomose.

RESULTSAll the patients survived after off-pump CABG. Compared with the baseline, there were no significant hemodynamic changes when doing LIMA-LAD anastomose. When the anastomose finished, the hemodynamic indices improved significantly. When performing OM anastomose, HR and CVP increased significantly, and MAP, CI, LVSWI and RVSWI decreased remarkably in group I and group III, while there were no significant changes of MAP, CI and RVSWI in group II . When performing PDA anastomose, HR and CVP increased significantly, and MAP, CI, LVSWI and RVSWI decreased remarkably in group I and group II, while there were no significant hemodynamic changes in group III except HR.

CONCLUSIONProximal anastomose first when performing off-pump CABG, followed by distal anastomoses of target vessels is beneficial to those who have hard exposure and difficult anastomose of OM and PDA.