[Long-term results of aortocoronary bypass. 1. Clinical aspects]

Eighty patients undergoing one or several aorto-coronary bypass graft procedures had longterm clinical and arteriographic follow-up (mean follow-up period of two years, extremes 1 and 6 years). The indication fort operation in these patients was unstable angina in 39 (49%), threatened infarction in 16 (20%), Prinzmetal's angina in 8 (10%), and stable but incapacitating angina in 17 (21%). Significant lesions involved the three coronary trunks in 49 cases, two trunks in 25 cases, and one trunk in 6 cases. The longterm clinical results were excellent in 65% of cases, and fair in 26%; the procedure failed in 9% of cases. Angina pectoris either disappeared or improved in 96% of cases. After operation, myocardial infarctions occurred in 11 cases (14%), 7 of which were early and 4 late with a delay of 1 to 4 years. The pre-operative cardiac failure disappeared or decreased in 13 cases out of 16. Finally the quality of the clinical results does not seem to be influenced by the various indications for operation with the exception of Prinzmetal's angina, where the results have been excellent in all cases (8 cases out of 8).