Revascularization of left anterior descending coronary artery in patients with single and multivessel disease : Comparison between off-pump internal thoracic artery and drug-eluting stent

The left anterior descending artery (LADA), particularly when the proximal segment of the vessel is involved, is a challenging area for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs); therefore, coronary artery bypass grafting is often considered and sometimes performed even in patients with single-vessel disease involving the LADA. This study compares mid-term results of LADA revascularization with a drug-eluting stent (DES), with off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) in patients with single-vessel or multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD). Matched-groups, retrospective cohort comparison between the DES and OPCAB. From June 2002 to December 2003, 354 patients underwent myocardial revascularization of the LADA by OPCAB, and 168 by DES. After matching for age, sex, and extent of CAD, two groups (116 patients each) were used to compare the two revascularization modalities. The groups were similar; however, an ejection fraction of