Coronary Endarterectomy for Severe Diffuse Coronary Artery Disease

Objective: To determine the outcome of Coronary Endarterectomy (CE) in patients undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery for diffuse Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), in terms of postoperative mortality and morbidity, relief from angina and survival at one year. Study Design: A case series. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and National Institute of Heart Diseases, Rawalpindi, from January 2003 to November 2005. Methodology: Included in the study were all patients with such diffuse CAD that conventional bypass grafting was not possible. Those with the diseased coronary artery supplying an akinetic myocardium and a fixed perfusion defect on perfusion scan, or with poor left ventricular function (ejection fraction < 30%) in association with severe chronic hepatic disease and deranged liver function tests, permanent severe immune deficiency state, or poor results at lung function tests were excluded. Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) was used in all patients. All patients were followed up for a mean time of one year, for assessment of postoperative mortality and morbidity, relief from angina and survival. Results: Fifty five patients (3.2%) underwent CE of at least one major coronary artery for severe diffuse atheromatous disease. The mean age was 53.9 +/- 9.5 years. Twenty six (47.3%) had previous Myocardial Infarction (MI), 16 (29.1%) had unstable angina, 12 (21.8%) had poor Left Ventricular (LV) function, 5 (9.1%) underwent emergency CABG surgery for impending infarction, 39 (70.9%) had angina Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) class II/III, 11 (20%) had critical left main stem disease and 12 (21.8%) required Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP) for hemodynamic support. There were 2 (3.6%) early deaths and 2 (3.6%) cases of non-fatal infarctions. Three (5.4%) patients had low Cardiac Output (CO) after operation. At one year follow-up, there were no late deaths and 43 patients (91.5% of those reporting for follow-up) did not have angina. Conclusion: CE acted as an adjunct to CABG surgery with acceptable operative risks and satisfactory results at one year in terms of mortality and angina relief.