Off-pump surgery decreases postoperative complications and resource utilization in the elderly

Abstract Background . Bypass surgery in the elderly (age >70 years) has increased mortality and morbidity, which may be a consequence of cardiopulmonary bypass. We compare the outcomes of a cohort of elderly off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) patients with elderly conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients. Methods . Chart and provincial cardiac care registry data were reviewed for 30 consecutive elderly OPCAB patients (age 74.7 ± 4.2 years) and 60 consecutive CABG patients (age 74.9 ± 4.1 years, p = 0.82) with similar risk factor profiles: Parsonnet score 17.2 ± 8.1 (OPCAB) versus 15.6 ± 6.5 (CABG), p = 0.31; and Ontario provincial acuity index 4.5 ± 1.9 (OPCAB) versus 4.3 ± 2.0 (CABG), p = 0.65. Results . Mean hospital stay was 6.3 ± 1.8 days for OPCAB patients and 7.7 ± 3.9 days for CABG patients ( p p p p Conclusions . OPCAB is safe in the geriatric population and significantly reduces postoperative morbidity and cost.