[Direct angioplasty of the left main coronary artery with a pericardium flap]

Surgical treatment of stenosis of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is a special problem, a number of questions of surgical strategy for this lesion still remain unsolved. The question of direct plasty dilatation of LMCA has not lost its actuality. Operations were made on 6 patients in whom direct plasty dilatation of LMCA with a flap from autopericardium was performed for local, not lengthy constriction which was located in the initial and middle part of LMCA. The operations were made under conditions of extracorporeal circulation, moderate general hypothermia (about 32 degrees C), pharmacohypothermic cardioplagia with external cooling of the heart. In all cases there was good restoration of cardiac activity and the absence of myocardium ischemia at the postoperative period. The restoration of the anatomical lumen of LMCA by this method facilitated sufficient blood flow along LMCA. Five years later all the patients are alive, one patient has external angina of the 11 functional class.