Transmyocardial laser revascularisation as an adjunct to CABG

Transmyocardial laser revascularisation (TMLR), a new technique in which the ischaemic myocardium is perfused via laser-created transmural channels, was performed in 116 patients at the Escorts Heart Institute. TMLR was combined with CABG in 104 of these patients. The main indication for the combined procedure was the presence of one or more bypassable vessels along with diffuse disease in the other vessels. The age of the patients ranged from 37 to 73 years. Preoperatively, 53.84 percent of patients had Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) class III angina while 24 percent had class IV angina. The mean LVEF was 46 percent; however, 19 percent of the patients had LVEF < 35 percent. Thirteen patients were operated upon a beating heart without cardiopulmonary bypass. The early mortality was 2.88 percent, 7.69 percent of patients showed elevation in CPK-MB, while 5.76 percent had a rise in Troponin 'T' and 2 percent of patients showed ECG changes. The mean follow-up was 7.6 months. Myocardial perfusion scan showed a step-wise improvement in reversible ischaemia, the perfusion index increasing from 52 percent at 3 months to 91 percent at 12 months. At 12 months, 91.6 percent of patients were angina-free. The Karnofsky score of 46 percent at baseline also increased to 86 percent at 12 months.