Durability of Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Less Invasive and Hybrid Surgical/Interventional Coronary Disease Management: The Future Is Now

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has evolved to become the criterion standard in elective revascularisation for coronary artery disease (CAD), particularly in patients with complex or multivessel CAD, left main involvement, diabetes mellitus, or left ventricular dysfunction. Despite the superiority of CABG in patients with the most advanced forms of CAD, a standard CABG operation, through a median sternotomy and with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass, carries well recognised challenges. In this article, we describe newer approaches, such as off-pump CABG, minimally invasive bypass grafting, robotic CABG, and hybrid coronary revascularisation, which we consider as necessary ways to minimise invasion, reduce recovery time, provide the benefits of arterial grafting to more patients, and offer alternatives to mitigate the adverse effects of conventional sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass.

Designing the coronary artery bypass surgery operation of the future

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article discusses current shortcomings in coronary artery bypass surgery and ways to overcome them.

RECENT FINDINGS

Minimally invasive coronary bypass surgery, robotic coronary bypass, and hybrid approaches aim to avoid sternotomy, employ arterial grafts, and minimize the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Other considerations such as bypass graft validation, the optimization of guideline-directed medical therapy, and the development of coronary surgery specialists are also crucial to further the benefits of coronary artery bypass grafting on future patients.

SUMMARY

Coronary artery bypass grafting must become less invasive, be better validated, and be carried out with an even higher emphasis on quality, including graft validation and preoperative/postoperative optimization, if it is to remain the best treatment for advanced, severe coronary artery disease.

[Surgical Revascularization of the Myocardium by Minimally Invasive Access]

Median sternotomy is the Gold Standard access for surgical revascularization of the myocardium, but it is not free of complications, especially in patients with multiple comorbidities. Minimally invasive access offers the advantage of avoiding sternotomy, achieving a more accelerated postoperative recovery, with less hospital stay time and a higher level of satisfaction with quality of life. We present the case of a 49-year-old male patient, diabetic, hypertensive, smoker, with multiarterial coronary artery disease, very symptomatic, who underwent surgical revascularization by left mini-thoracotomy.