Short-Term Outcomes After Off-Pump or On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in the Octogenarian Patients

Despite large randomized controlled trials demonstrating similar outcomes for of-pump or on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, the debate between proponents of each technique remains current.1 On-pump technique improves surgical exposure on a nonbeating heart but exposes the patient to a powerful inflammatory response and to ischemic stroke owing to cross clamping and cannulation. Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) may reduce blood transfusion, postoperative length of hospital stay, postoperative neurocognitive decline, and systemic anticoagulation, but heart repositioning may be associated with hemodynamic instability; thus, this technique requires a learning curve for the surgeons and increases the incidence of ineffective revascularization.
Source: Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research