Complete myocardial revascularization using arterial grafts.

BACKGROUND: Complete arterial revascularization is important in younger patients to reduce the likelihood of future reoperation. We assessed the short-term outcome of a strategy to provide complete arterial revascularization in a cohort of young patients. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty-five patients underwent myocardial revascularization using artery grafts alone and were followed up for 30 months. One hundred fourteen patients (29.6%) had single-vessel disease, 118 (30.6%) had two-vessel disease, and 153 (39.7%) had three or more obstructed coronary arteries. Eight of the patients had undergone previous surgical revascularization. The left internal thoracic artery (LITA) was routinely used for the left anterior descending branch (LAD). In 103 patients (28.1%), the in situ right internal thoracic artery (RITA) was used for revascularization of the right coronary artery (RCA) and its branches. The RITA was sometimes used as a free graft from the aorta or as an artificial "Y" from the LITA to the diagonal and marginal branches. Other arterial conduits included the radial artery (RA) in 215 patients (55.8%), the right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) in 24 patients (6.3%), and the inferior epigastric artery (IEA) in four patients (1.1%). RESULTS: In patients having lesions in three or more arteries, the mean number of distal anastomoses was 3.2 per patient. There were no intraoperative deaths. Hospital mortality was 1.8% (n = 7). Of the fatal cases, two were redos and two underwent combined procedures (one for left ventricular aneurysm and one for double valve replacement), while only three of the fatal cases underwent revascularization as a primary and isolated procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Complete arterial reconstruction carries an acceptably low operative mortality and excellent short-term follow-up. This strategy is particularly important for young patients to reduce the probability of future reoperation.