Results of CABG Using Microsurgical Technique and Endarterectomy for Diffuse Lesions of the Coronary Arteries

Background. The number of patients (pts) with diffuse lesions among coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) candidates has increased; they are expected to have worse results. Complex reconstructions, such as coronary endarterectomy (CEAE) and prolonged anastomoses with arteries less than 1.5mm in diameter, are being used more often. There is no sufficient evidence data and accepted guidelines for surgical treatment of this most complicated category of pts. Aim — to evaluate the effectiveness of CABG with and without endarterectomy in pts with diffuse lesion and compare it with standard CABG in pts with local lesion. Materials and methods. In 2010–2017 CABG were performed in 2.927 pts. 1276 had diffuse coronary artery disease and in 154 cases the surgeon was forced to perform CEAE. After excluding 38 pts with comorbidities, the study group was formed (group 1, n = 116). We selected 2 equally large control groups with propensity score matching: from pts with diffuse lesion operated without CEAE (group 2, n = 116) and pts with local lesion operated as standard (group 3, n = 116). Cardiopulmonary bypass and microsurgical techniques were used. Hospital and long-term (up to 8 years; median follow-up of 60 (42; 74) months results were compared. The endpoints were all-cause and cardiac mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), angina recurrence and repeated revascularization. Results. In group 1 the frequency of perioperative MI was significantly higher compared to groups 2 and 3 (6.9% vs 0.7 and 0.7% resp, p < 0.05) Hospital mortality was comparable in groups (p = 0.444). In the long-term period, the angina recurrence frequency was insignificantly lower in both control groups compared with the study group (p = 0.418). Autovenous grafts had significantly more dysfunctions compared with the internal thoracic artery grafts in symptomatic pts (57.5 versus 12.1%, p < 0.05; odds ratio OR = 9.82; 95% CI: 3.24–29.79). Also the severity of the “target” coronary artery lesion > 4 points scaled by the “diffuse lesion index” were more frequent cause of graft dysfunction in this group (60.9 versus 41.6%; p < 0.05; OR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.13–4.24). Conclusion. Coronary endarterectomy is related to the high risk of perioperative myocardial infraction, while do not significantly increase the hospital mortality and adverse events in the long-term period. It should be considered to use coronary endarterectomy when there is no other option for surgery. The using of other adjunctive techniques demonstrate high efficiency in patients with diffuse lesions of the coronary arteries, comparable to surgery in patients with local lesion.