Midterm angiographic follow-up after off-pump coronary artery bypass: serial comparison using early, 1-year, and

Ki-Bong Kim1, Kwang Ree Cho, Dong Seop Jeong

  • 1Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. kimkb@snu.ac.kr <kimkb@snu.ac.kr>

Insights

Graft patency after off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery remains acceptable at 5 years. Arterial grafts improve over time, while saphenous vein grafts show increasing moderate lesions.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Surgery
  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery is a common revascularization technique.
  • Long-term graft performance is crucial for patient outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
  • Understanding anastomotic site changes is vital for assessing OPCAB efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate angiographic changes and graft patency at the anastomotic sites up to 5 years post-OPCAB surgery.
  • To compare the midterm performance of different graft types (arterial vs. venous) after OPCAB.
  • To assess the influence of graft location on patency rates.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of coronary angiograms from 240 patients who underwent OPCAB surgery.
  • Follow-up angiograms were obtained at early, 1-year, and 5-year intervals.
  • Graft morphology was assessed using the FitzGibbon grading system.

Main Results:

  • Overall graft patency (FitzGibbon grade A+B) was 98.6% early, 91.9% at 1 year, and 88.3% at 5 years.
  • Graft patency in the left anterior descending artery territory was significantly higher than in other territories at 1 and 5 years.
  • Arterial grafts initially graded B showed improvement to grade A by 5 years, whereas saphenous vein grafts showed a progressive increase in grade B lesions.

Conclusions:

  • Midterm angiographic follow-up confirms acceptable graft patency after OPCAB surgery.
  • Arterial grafts demonstrate favorable remodeling and improvement in morphology over 5 years.
  • Saphenous vein grafts exhibit a gradual increase in moderate lesions, indicating potential for later degeneration.
Abstract