A 71-year-old man with double vessel disease (left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery) was surgically treated by off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. He had undergone pre-sternal subcutaneous gastric tube reconstruction and mediastinal radiation therapy 19 years previously due to esophageal cancer. The gastric tube prevented the median sternotomy that is commonly necessary for cardiac surgery. In cases with difficulties of median sternotomy, left anterolateral thoracotomy and the use of the subclavian artery as inflow root for bypass grafting are available. Both radial arteries were harvested as graft conduit, because of prospective severe adhesion of left internal thoracic artery due to previous radiation. The radial artery was anastomosed on the back side of the left subclavian artery with side-to-end fashion. Y-shaped composite graft was made with the other arterial graft. Both ends were anastomosed to the left anterior descending artery and the right posterior descending branch on the beating heart status without cardiopulmonary bypass. Intra-operative SPY images showed good patency of both bypass grafts. The post-operative course was eventful. The catheter angiography revealed all graft patency 5 years after the surgery.

Though the number of reoperative coronary artery bypass grafting procedures (re-CABG) is increasing, the operative results are still inferior to primary CABG. In the present study, we analyzed results of our two different procedures for re-CABG and estimated predominance of the LAST-MIDCAB (off-pump left anterior small thoracotomy minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass) procedure in selected patients. From 1999 to 2001, 25 patients underwent re-CABG. The age of patients ranged from 56 to 82 years (mean 70 years). Re-CABG was performed due to the occlusion of existing grafts in 14 cases, progressive disease of previously ungrafted vessels in 6 and anastomotic stenosis of previously grafted vessels in 5. We performed off-pump LAST-MIDCAB in 15 patients, on-pump CABG via a median sternotomy in 9 and on-pump LAST-CABG in 1 which was converted due to RV injury during a re-sternotomy. In the LAST-MIDCAB group, the left internal thoracic artery was chosen as a graft to the LAD in 10 patients, the right gastroepiploic artery in 4 and the saphenous vein in 1. The operation time of the LAST-MIDCAB group was significantly shorter than that of the on-pump CABG group. Blood transfusion was necessary for only one patient in the LAST-MIDCAB group. Although many postoperative complications occurred in the on-pump CABG group, no major postoperative complication was seen in the LAST-MIDCAB group except one patient who sufferred from lung fibrosis, which led to shortness of the postoperative hospital stay. We conclude that LAST-MIDCAB is an alternative way to reduce operative morbidity in selected re-CABG cases.

Left ventricular reconstruction methods (LVR) consisting of the Dor procedure or septal anterior ventricular exclusion (SAVE) have been advocated for left ventricular dysfunction due to ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). This study reports early results achieved with LVR in patients with ICM. Between April 2001 and August 2004, 9 patients with ICM underwent LVR and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Their age was 62±11 years, and 7 were men. The Dor procedure was performed in 8 patients and 1 patient underwent SAVE. CABG was performed in all patients. Two patients with grade 3 mitral regurgitation (MR) preoperatively had mitral valve annuloplasty (MAP). The mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) improved from 31.6±7.2% to 47.8±9.4%. The mean left ventricular end diastolic volume index (LVEDVI) decreased from 166.7±50.4ml/m² to 102.6±23.0ml/m². The mean left ventricular end systolic volume index (LVESVI) decreased from 114.4±34.7ml/m² to 52.4±16.6ml/m². The mean coaptation depth decreased from 9.3±3.1mm to 4.5±1.4mm. The mean MR, with or without MAP, improved from grade 1.7±1.1 to grade 0.2±0.4. There were no hospital deaths. Seven of 9 patients were categorized as New York Heart Association functional class I at discharge. We conclude that LVR is an effective treatment for ICM with severe left ventricular dysfunction.