Complete revascularization is compromised in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting

Objective Patients who undergo off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) commonly receive fewer bypass grafts and are more often incompletely revascularized compared with those receiving conventional coronary artery bypass (CCAB) recipients. Because this can compromise survival, we sought to determine whether patients undergoing OPCAB are incompletely revascularized and whether this affects long-term survival and freedom from cardiac events. Methods OPCAB cases (n = 411) performed from January 1, 1997 to June 30, 2003 were considered for inclusion and matching with 874 randomly selected, contemporary CCAB cases. After propensity matching, 308 OPCAB cases and 308 CCAB cases were included in the final analysis. We compared the number of bypass grafts and the completeness of revascularization by coronary territory. Survival and readmission for cardiac causes were monitored for up to 10 years postoperatively, with a median follow-up period of 5.9 years. Results On average, the patients undergoing OPCAB received significantly fewer distal anastomoses than did those undergoing CCAB (mean ± standard deviation, 2.6 ± 0.9 vs 3.0 ± 1.0, P