[Respiratory function after coronary artery bypass grafting through mini-sternotomy as a factor of early recovery]

Early recovery in patients after minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting with mini-sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass (MICS-CABG) was compared to standard CABG by assessing preoperative and postoperative (7 to 10 days after) respiratory function.

Fifteen patients (Group M; mean age 62.1 years) underwent MICS-CABG with a mean of 2.3 distal anastomoses per patient. Ten patients (Group F; mean age 63.8 years) underwent standard CABG through full sternotomy with a mean of 2.4 distal anastomoses per patient.

Postoperative coronary angiography showed that the patency rate of the grafts was 97% in Group M and 96% in Group F. Intubation time and hospital stay were significantly shorter (p < 0.01) in Group M (6.2 +/- 2.4 hours, 16.3 +/- 3.1 days) than in Group F (10.8 +/- 2.9 hours, 22.8 +/- 2.5 days). Respiratory function measured as the percentage of postoperative to preoperative values (Group M/Group F; mean +/- standard error) were vital capacity of 95.8 +/- 3.1%/74.6 +/- 3.4% (p < 0.05), 1 sec percentage of forced expiratory volume of 98.8 +/- 2.3%/71.8 +/- 2.8% (p < 0.05) and peak expiratory flow rate of 91.7 +/- 4.2%/89.4 +/- 4.5%.

Quick recovery of the respiratory function after MICS-CABG may be important in the early recovery and short hospital stay of MICS-CABG patients compared with standard CABG patients.