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We report a case in which weaning from cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was achieved by temporarily occluding the hemodialysis arteriovenous fistula. A 68-year-old man with diabetic nephropathy underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, and cardiac ECMO was used to wean the patient from cardiopulmonary bypass. An ultrasonic flowmeter showed the arteriovenous flow to be over 750 ml/min, which can lead to increased preload on the weakened heart. On the sixth postoperative day, occlusion of the fistula by compression with a soft bandage provided the correct balance between myocardial reserve and shunt volume and hence facilitated successful weaning from cardiac ECMO.

Intermittent warm blood cardioplegia has been reported as a valuable alternative for myocardial protection in cardiac surgery; however, conflicting experimental data have been published. To assess the clinical effectiveness of intermittent warm cardioplegia, we measured the release of troponin-T (Tn-T), a highly sensitive and specific marker of myocardial damage, and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB), in 12 patients who underwent elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with antegrade intermittent warm blood cardioplegia (37 degrees C) being the warm group, in comparison with 16 patients who underwent CABG with antegrade intermittent cold blood cardioplegia (4 degrees C) being the cold group. Blood samples were taken to determine the serum concentrations of CK-MB and Tn-T, at the induction of anesthesia, then 3, 6, 12, and 24h after the termination of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The peak increase in serum CK-MB levels, 3h after CPB, was significantly lower in the warm group than in the cold group, at 27.8+/-7.8 IU/l vs. 40.8+/-12.6 IU/l, respectively (P = 0.0042). The serum Tn-T 12 h after CPB was significantly lower in the warm group than in the cold group, at 1.40+/-0.71 ng/ml vs. 2.06+/-0.95 ng/ml, respectively (P = 0.049). In conclusion, intermittent antegrade warm blood cardioplegia showed effective myocardial protection in elective CABG.

An elderly woman underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, which was followed 1 month later by pseudoaneurysmal rupture at the distal anastomosis of a saphenous vein graft. Emergency repair of the suture line dehiscence was made, and the postoperative course was uneventful. Pseudoaneurysm formation of a saphenous vein graft after coronary artery bypass grafting is a rare but potentially lethal complication requiring urgent operative intervention.

We report herein the case of a 61-year-old man with myelodysplastic syndrome causing pancytopenia who underwent successful coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Preoperatively, his hemoglobin (Hb) value was 10.4 g/dl while receiving transfusions of 1 or 2 units of red blood cells (RBC) every 2 weeks, his white blood cell (WBC) count was 8200/microliter with injections of 100 micrograms granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-SCF) every 5 days, and his platelet count was 4.5 x 10(4)/ microliter without platelet transfusion. From the time the pancytopenia was diagnosed in his peripheral blood, he had received a total of 104 units of RBC and 472 units of platelets, following which he developed an antiplatelet antibody, not for a platelet-specific antigen, but for an HLA antigen. Thus, HLA-matched platelets were prepared to prevent bleeding caused by thrombocytopenia, and the WBC count was elevated preoperatively by G-CSF injections. Thereafter, CABG was performed on three vessels. The HLA-matched platelets were transfused as the patient was weaned from the extracorporeal circulation. As a result of these preparations, we were able to protect the patient against bleeding and infection.

An 11-year-old boy with Kawasaki's disease who developed congestive heart failure due to acute myocardial infarction underwent coronary artery bypass grafting using the bilateral internal thoracic arteries. The surgical procedures were performed to the left anterior descending artery with the right internal thoracic artery and to the diagonal branch with the left internal thoracic artery with the aid of extracorporeal circulation and cardiac arrest with blood cardioplegia. About 30 minutes after the discontinuation of extracorporeal circulation, catastrophic ventricular fibrillation with acute left heart failure occurred because of coronary hypoperfusion. The cardiopulmonary bypass was reestablished after 20 minutes of resuscitation under cardiac massage. Additional saphenous vein graft bypass to the left anterior descending coronary artery that was already revascularized by the right internal thoracic artery was performed. Weaning from the cardiopulmonary bypass was then possible, and the patient were successfully treated using the delayed sternal closure technique. Use of the bilateral internal thoracic arteries appears to be beneficial in children with Kawasaki's disease to produce grafts in the growing heart, but the possibility of early catastrophic flow deterioration must be recognized because smaller arerial size provides inadequate nutritional support for the myocardium. The additional use of saphenous vein grafting might be beneficial in the case of severe coronary ischemia with small-sized internal thoracic arteries.

In an attempt to determine the cause of pathological changes in saphenous vein grafts arising months or years after coronary artery bypass surgery, we studied 13 patients who underwent reoperation 7 months to 12 years after the first surgery. Four of 17 grafts occluded early in the postoperative period. In these four cases, only thrombosis was observed in the graft lumen, and there were no marked changes in the graft wall. The 13 grafts occluded in late postoperative period exhibited two significant pathological changes. One was fibrointimal proliferation, which was found to some extent in all 13 grafts. However, it was thought to be the cause of occlusion in only one case. This fibrointimal proliferation was interpreted as a remodeling process associated with arterialization of the vein graft and occasionally causing graft occlusion. The other long-term pathological change, observed in 11 grafts, was atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic changes significantly contributed to the development of occlusive and stenotic lesions and are suspected to be a major cause of late saphenous vein graft deterioration. In conclusion, fibrointimal proliferation and atherosclerosis are different pathological process, and it is important to distinguish between them in the evaluation of saphenous vein graft disease.

This is the first report of cryoblasion of atrial myxoma which was performed in conjunction with coronary artery bypass grafting. A 63-year-old man was admitted for left atrial tumor and ischemic heart disease. Following coronary artery bypass grafting and resection of left atrial myxoma, cryosurgery was carried out for the residual tumor on atrial septum and left atrial posterior wall. Ultrasonic cardiogram after 1 year revealed no signs of recurrence. Cryoablasion was effective in preventing the recurrence of atrial myxoma.

The indication of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for coronary artery disease, especially for multivessel disease, remains controversial. We examined the characteristics and outcomes of the CABG group (799 consecutive patients) and the PTCA group (944 patients) from 1984 to 1991. The proportion of 3-vessel and left main disease in the CABG group was 77% and that of single-vessel in the PTCA group was 92%. The characteristics between 2 groups were distinct. But the results were good respectively. The occurrence of hospital death was similar (1.3% vs 0%). The early graft patency rate in the CABG group was 91% and primary success rate in the PTCA group was 90%. And over a 5-year follow-up the cumulative survival rate of 3-vessel disease undergoing CABG and single-vessel disease patients undergoing PTCA was 96% versus 98%, respectively. It is concluded that PTCA is suitable for single-vessel and 2-vessel without totally occluded artery disease patients, whereas CABG for other multivessel disease patients.

The effect of subcutaneous administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) in ameliorating anemia resulting from autologous blood donation was compared with intravenous administration of rHuEPO. Forty patients undergoing coronary artery bypass procedures were divided into three groups. Group I (12 patients) received intravenous administration of rHuEPO (100 U.kg-1.day-1) and intravenous iron preparations for 14 days before operation; group II (14 patients) had subcutaneous administration of rHuEPO (600 U/kg) on preoperative days 14 and 7 and oral iron preparations for 14 days; and group III (14 patients) received oral iron preparations alone and served as the controls. Each patient predonated 800 mL of blood in the 2 weeks before operation. The reticulocyte count increased significantly in groups I and II (p less than 0.01), but little in group III. The hemoglobin level just before operation was higher in groups I (p less than 0.01) and II (p less than 0.05) compared with group III. Four patients (29%) in group III required homologous blood transfusion versus none in groups I and II (p less than 0.05). Subcutaneous administration of rHuEPO once a week was as effective as daily intravenous administration. Preoperative autologous blood donation can be performed over a short period on an outpatient basis with subcutaneous administration of rHuEPO.

The cumulative 94 coronary bypass patients were evaluated on calcification of the ascending aorta preoperatively by computed tomography (CT). CT demonstrated the calcification of the ascending aorta in 12 patients (12.8%). In these patients with severely calcified ascending aorta, we performed femoral cannulation (6 cases), distal anastomosis without aortic cross clamp (2 cases), proximal anastomosis through single aortic cross clamp (3 cases) and non proximal anastomosis to use arterial conduits (3 cases). In this series, we did not have any embolic episode. The thoracic computed tomography is effective for evaluation of calcified ascending aorta and in this situation, operative modifications are necessary for obviation of stroke.

CABG was performed in 327 patients from 1989 to 1991. We used ITA grafts for the arterial conduit whenever this was possible. Since ITA grafting has become a routine procedure in CABG, we investigated the reasons why in situ ITA grafts were used in some of our patients. The number of CABG patients without in situ ITA grafts was 42 in 1989, 35 in 1990, and 9 in 1991. There was three main reasons for this: 1) problems with the coronary arteries or myocardium, 2) problems with the ITA grafts, and 3) problems with the patient. Although ITA grafts were not used in these cases, the indications for ITA grafting have been changed by our review. Use of ITA grafts need not be restricted for reasons of age or native coronary artery problems, but some patients will still be unsuitable for these grafts.

We experienced a patient in whom acute ascending aortic dissection appeared to develop at the site of injection of the cardioplegic solution during coronary artery bypass surgery. The patient was a woman aged 70, who was demonstrated to have calcification of the posterior wall of the ascending aorta by preoperative CT scanning. When dissection developed at the cardioplegia injection site after removal of the aortic cross clamp, the aorta was transected and teflon felt was applied to the aorta internally and externally before end-to-end anastomosis was performed. Postoperative CT scanning revealed closure of the dissecting lumen, and the patient was discharged from hospital on the 33rd postoperative day.

A 78-year-old woman was diagnosed as having three-vessel coronary artery disease. A coronary artery bypass operation with autologous blood transfusion was indicated because of the irregular antibody and because homologous blood transfusion would lead to hemolytic complications. Since she had anemia (hemoglobin level, 10.7 g/dl) and autologous blood could not be collected, recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) and iron preparations were administered intravenously every day. The hemoglobin level reached 12.1 g/dl two weeks after administration, and then autologous blood was donated. The first 1200 ml of blood was stored frozen, and the last 400 ml as liquid in consideration of the blood preservation period. Surgery was performed uneventfully after 8 weeks of rHuEPO administration. No homologous blood transfusion was required during and after surgery. By using rHuEPO, it is thus possible to perform heart surgery without homologous blood transfusion even in patients with anemia, for whom blood transfusions have been considered necessary.

The effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on improving the anemia associated with autologous blood collection before open heart operations and on improving the postoperative anemia were studied. The study was carried out on 18 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass operations; 400 mL of autologous whole blood was taken from each patient 2 weeks before operation and was subsequently used in the operation, and rHuEPO (100 U.kg-1.day-1) was given intravenously for 2 weeks before operation and for 1 week after operation. The group in which iron preparations were also administered intravenously was designated as group I (10 patients), and the group in which rHuEPO was given alone was designated as group II (8 patients). In group III, as a control group, 11 past patients were used in whom 400 mL of autologous whole blood was collected 2 weeks before operation but neither rHuEPO nor iron preparations were given. After autologous blood collections, the hemoglobin levels improved in group I, group II, and group III, in that order, and with significant differences among them. It was shown that rHuEPO was effective in ameliorating the anemia associated with preoperative autologous blood collection, and the effect was further enhanced with intravenous supplementing iron preparations. After operation, the anemia markedly improved while rHuEPO was administered, but the hemoglobin levels decreased rapidly when the administration was terminated. Further studies are needed regarding the use of rHuEPO after operation.

Among 535 cases of simple CABG, cerebral infarction was complicated in 5 cases (0.9%). Their mean age (65.2 years old) was high, and 80% of them had the history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus or both. The causes of the cerebral infarction were considered to be the embolism of atheromatous debris from the ascending aorta (3 cases), the cerebral hypoperfusion due to cerebral arterial disease and hypotension during cardiopulmonary bypass (1 cases), and the embolism of the left atrial thrombus formed during repeated supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (1 case). Both cases of the multiple infarctions were lost in-hospital 10 months and 21 months postoperatively. Two of the three cases of single infarction suffered from the permanent neurological deficits. To prevent cerebral infarction which might totally deprive of the efficacy of the CABG, it is important to check and properly manage the atheromatous change of the ascending aorta, the cerebral arterial disease, and also postoperative supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.

There were 10 (1.2%) cases of cardiac surgery complicated with malignant neoplasm among the total 863 cases of cardiac surgery in our hospital and 8 cases were treated also surgically against the neoplasms before and after the cardiac surgery. They all underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, and in one case concomitant mitral valve replacement and abdominal aortic aneurysm resection were carried out. The variety of the neoplasms in these cases were carcinomas of the stomach, pancreas, esophagus, renal pelvis, bile duct, colon and urinary bladder, and pleural mesothelioma. These patients were discharged without operative death or major complication, and there was only one evidence of recurrence among the eight cases treated surgically for the neoplasms. It was considered that patients who have critical cardiac problem also bearing neoplasmic combination could be treated excellently by means of both surgical measures.

The right gastroepiploic artery is being used as a third arterial conduit for coronary artery bypass surgery. Presented here is a case demonstrating successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of the gastroepiploic artery graft. This successful accomplishment may avoid repeat surgical revascularization in case of failure of the gastroepiploic artery graft, hence may encourage people to use it more often.

This study is a review of our experience with elderly patients, who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Of 357 patients who underwent elective CABG from April 1982 to May 1986, 50 patients (14.0%) were 65 years old or older. The incidence of preoperative cardiac conditions in the elderly was almost the same as that in patients less than 65 years of age. The incidence of noncardiac preoperative conditions in the older patients, such as diabetes mellitus, renal dysfunction, concomitant malignant disease, atherosclerotic lesion of the ascending aorta, was significantly higher than that in the younger age group. Early surgical mortality was 4.0% (2 cases) in the older group, and 1.3% (4 cases) in the younger group. There was no significant difference in statistics. The incidence of major postoperative complications was not significantly different between the two age groups, except that of cerebral infarction, which was significantly higher in the elderly group (6.0% vs 0.3%, p less than 0.001). The rate of a long postoperative hospital stay was also significantly higher in the older group (43.8% vs 30.0%, p less than 0.05). Long-term results, such as late mortality, symptom-free rate and graft patency, showed no significant differences between the two age groups. It is concluded that CABG can be performed in selected older patients with relatively low mortality and morbidity. Special attention should be paid to prevent perioperative cerebral infarction.

Between 1982 and 1983, we experienced four cases of hemodynamic collapse accompanied by an ST-segment depression in the ECG lead II, shortly after the cessation of cardiopulmonary bypass. The bypass graft flows monitored in these patients during the hemodynamic collapse episodes were remarkably low. In three cases, nitroglycerin (0.5-1 mg) was injected directly into the vein graft, which increased the graft flow suddenly, returned the ST-segment to the baseline, and improved the circulatory condition. Since 1984, however, diltiazem has been used in the cardioplegic solution and postoperative drip infusion. Due to the introduction of this drug, coronary artery spasm has not been seen in any of our patients since. These findings show that the monitoring of ST-segment changes and bypass graft flows are useful in the early diagnosis of coronary artery spasm after myocardial revascularization. Direct infusion of nitroglycerin into the vein graft is effective for the treatment of spasm, while diltiazem is useful in the prevention of coronary artery spasm incidental to myocardial revascularization.

Coronary artery bypass surgery was performed in three cases of hemodialysis-dependent patients. Extracorporeal ultrafiltration method (ECUM) during cardiopulmonary bypass was useful to control water and electrolyte balance. Partial blood reperfusion (PBR) method was employed in post-operative hemodialysis, which proved to be effective not only to minimize hemodynamic deterioration but also to prevent the induction of bleeding tendency. Hemofiltration on the first post-operative day would be recommendable in poor-risk patients to eliminate excessive intravascular fluid which is returned from the third space.