The effect of single aortic cross-clamp technique versus multiple clamp technique on postoperative stroke in octogenarians undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

AIM In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the single aortic cross-clamp technique (SCT) (aortic cross-clamp only) versus the multiple-clamp technique (MCT) (aortic cross-clamp + side-biting clamp) on postoperative stroke in octogenarians undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS A total of 171 patients aged 80 years and older who underwent isolated CABG were retrospectively analysed. The patients were divided into two groups according to the technique used during surgery: group 1 (n = 88) received the SCT, and group 2 (n = 83) received the MCT. Postoperative stroke was evaluated. RESULTS Of the patients, 127 were men and 44 were women. The mean age was 83.05 ± 8.81 years in group 1 and 82.14 ± 8.92 years in group 2. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of postoperative stroke between the two techniques (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Postoperative stroke in octogenarians may result from not only the cross-clamp technique used but also several other factors. We found that both techniques yielded similar outcomes.