Circumflex coronary artery bypass via the posterior interatrial sulcus and under the venae cavae

During coronary artery bypass grafting, the length of the graft to the circumflex coronary artery or its end branches can be underestimated because of the posterior location of the circumflex. Herein, we describe a new bypass route--which we consider the shortest--to the ascending aorta. In 2 patients, during proximal anastomosis of the saphenous vein bypass graft (via a route either anterior to the pulmonary artery or the transverse sinus) from the circumflex to the ascending aorta, the vein graft (approximately 5-6 cm in length) proved too short. We performed bypass in a new direction--from the circumflex coronary artery to the right side of the ascending aorta, under the inferior and superior venae cavae and along the interatrial groove--without the need for graft lengthening. To our knowledge, the bypass route to the circumflex system described herein is new. This new route can be successfully used when the bypass conduit is too short to follow the conventional route. Our 2 patients benefited from this approach and were in Canadian Cardiovascular Society Class l two years after the surgical procedure.