Methodological approach in adopting off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery in a British cardiothoracic unit: Harefield experience

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Abstract
The theoretical and practical disadvantages of coronary artery bypass graft surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass with cardioplegic arrest are well reported in the literature. Encouraged by our work and others, we adopted a systematic approach to the application of off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. We aimed to validate the non-selective use of the off-pump technique in all patients and assess the outcome in specific patient groups including: patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction, female and high-risk patients. We investigated specific technical details related to off-pump surgery including: the potential effect of the distortion of the mitral valve on haemodynamic stability intraoperatively and the feasibility of sequential coronary artery bypass grafting using the off-pump technique. We also compared the outcome to the national United Kingdom performance in a risk-stratified manner. An extensive retrospective data review for comparative analysis of outcome was carried out at both local and multi-centre levels. This showed that off-pump surgery was feasible for all patients, and provided a better outcome in patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction, female and high-risk patients. The distortion of the mitral valve contributed to the haemodynamic instability. In conclusion, off-pump surgery is safe and provides better outcome in specific patient groups.

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