Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with dialysis-dependent renal failure

This study identified preoperative characteristics of dialysis patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and determined the early and long-term results. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 60 patients (mean age 60.8 +/- 7.6 years) with end-stage renal disease who underwent CABG between 1982 and 1999. Seventeen (28%) patients underwent CABG for unstable angina, and 9 (15%) patients required preoperative intraaortic balloon pumping. The incidence of congestive heart failure (18%) and diseased aorta (42%) was higher in the dialysis group. In-hospital mortality in the dialysis group was 13% (8/60). The estimated survival rate at 5 and 10 years in the dialysis patients was 55.6 +/- 8.8% and 31.8 +/- 11.6%, respectively. The cardiac event-free rate, excluding the in-hospital mortality, was 62.5 +/- 9.9% at 5 years. Although the early and long-term results of CABG in dialysis patients were inferior to those of nondialysis patients, CABG in dialysis-dependent patients allows the patients to continue their dialysis therapy and to improve their functional status.