Objective: A total of 2052 patients operated on with the off-pump technique (coronary artery bypass grafting on the beating heart without the use of extracorporeal circulation) between June 1993 and March 1996 are retrospectively reviewed. Predictors for early mortality, perioperative myocardial infarction, and low cardiac output state were statistically analyzed.
Method: Our indications for an off-pump procedure were either patients with technically suitable coronary lesions (the vast majority) or patients who could not tolerate cannulation, hypothermia, or cardiopulmonary bypass because of the poor left ventricular function (198 patients) and/or associated diseases or conditions (73 patients).
Results: Overall operative mortality was 1.9% and perioperative myocardial infarction occurred in 59 patients (2.9%). According to logistic regression analysis, associated bronchial asthma (p = 0.0001), hypertension (p = 0.05), poor quality of the left anterior descending artery (p = 0.02), and ungrafted circumflex coronary artery disease (p = 0.007) were the early mortality predictors. Nonbypassed circumflex disease was also associated with a high incidence of perioperative myocardial infarction and low cardiac output state. No homologous blood or packed red cell transfusion was required in 74.2% of the patients.
Conclusion: On the basis of the presented data, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting appeared to be a safe and effective technique in selected patients with appropriate coronary lesions.