Minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting: initial Connecticut experience

We report the initial Connecticut experience with minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting. This procedure allows bypass grafting to the left anterior descending coronary artery utilizing the internal mammary artery as the conduit. The procedure is minimally invasive because it is performed through a mini-thoracotomy incision in the fourth anterior intercostal space and it is conducted without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. The procedure has been applied to 13 patients operated between February and October 1996. All but one patient selected were poor candidates for conventional coronary artery bypass surgery because of advanced age (6), chronic renal failure/dialysis/kidney transplant (4), redo status with vulnerable grafts (1), severe peripheral vascular disease (6), severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (4). All patients survived operation and were discharged in good condition. Mean postoperative intubation time was seven hours and mean hospital stay was 4.5 days despite the very high pre-existing comorbidity of these patients. All patients are alive at the current follow-up time. Two patients required a conventional bypass procedure for occlusion of the minimally invasive graft, the first because of diffuse disease in the target artery and the second attributable to the technical limitations of minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting; both tolerated the subsequent procedure well. All patients are now angina-free. All four grafts studied by routine postoperative angiography were widely patent. Routine post-operative exercise nuclear imaging was normal in an additional patient. This procedure of minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting offers significant advantages compared to the conventional bypass procedure (short hospital stay, quick recovery, and, especially, avoidance of cerebrovascular accidents caused by the heart-lung machine). This minimally invasive procedure is expected to apply to a growing percentage of patients. The procedure, especially vis-à-vis angioplasty, may well offer the superior long-term patency of the mammary conduit achieved with a modest initial "investment" in hospital stay, costs of medical care, and discomfort and disability. A prospective, randomized trial comparing angioplasty and minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting is warranted.