Emergency off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting under a beating-heart.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on a beating heart has been successfully performed for high risk patients, and is known to be less invasive than conventional CABG using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). We expanded the indication of beating-heart CABG in patients requiring emergency coronary revascularization. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed for patients who had undergone emergency CABG on a beating heart (EM-BH group), elective CABG on a beating heart (Elective-BH group) and emergency CABG under CPB (EM-CPB group), between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 1998. RESULTS: Four cases (1 male and 3 females with a mean age of 67.8 +/- 5.4) in the EM-BH group, 67 cases (48 males and 19 females with mean age of 67.3 +/- 7.8) in the Elective-BH group, and 41 cases (29 males and 12 females with mean age of 63.3 +/- 10.4) in the EM-CPB group were analyzed. The number of the grafts was 1.75 +/- 0.50 in EM-BH group, 1.37 +/- 0.55 in the Elective-BH group, and 2.95 +/- 1.07 in the EM-CPB group. The intubation period, ICU stay, and the postoperative hospital stay were significantly shorter in the EM-BH group (6.0 hours intubation, 1.5 days ICU stay, and 11.5 days postoperative hospital stay) and Elective-BH group (6.8 +/- 11.0 hours intubation, 1.6 +/- 1.5 days ICU stay, and 12.7 +/- 5.2 days postoperative hospital stay) than in the EM-CPB group (20.1 +/- 22.5 hours intubation, 3.6 +/- 2.4 days ICU stay, and 21.8 +/- 14.9 days postoperative hospital stay). CONCLUSION: The postoperative recovery period for EM-BH patients was almost the same as that for elective cases of beating-heart CABG, and was significantly shorter than that of conventional emergency CABG under CPB. Selected patients with coronary ischemia can be safely treated by beating-heart surgery.