Coronary bypass grafting for single vessel coronary artery disease: A 17-year review with short- and long-term follow-up

Study objectives: We reviewed our short- (30 days) and long-term (up to 17 years) experience with surgical revascularization for patients with angiographically documented isolated single-vessel coronary artery disease. Design: Retrospective study of single-vessel coronary artery bypass procedures performed from January 1980 through June 1996. During this time, 100 consecutive patients underwent a single-vessel coronary artery bypass. All patients were men with a mean age of 59±9 years (range, 35 to 78 years) and a mean ejection fraction of 56±8% (range, 35 to 77%). The vessels bypassed included the left anterior descending in 66 (66%), right coronary artery in 31 (31%), and the obtuse marginal in 3 (3%). Results: Short-term results reveal no deaths and six (6.0%) complications. Long-term follow-up by chart review and telephone survey was available in 87 (87%) patients at a mean of 46.9 months (range, 12 to 151 months). Cumulative freedom from angina and repeated revascularization was 93% and 98% at 1 year and 55% and 81% at 10 years, respectively (Kaplan-Meier). Conclusion: Single-vessel coronary artery bypass for isolated single-vessel disease can be performed with minimal morbidity and no mortality and provides excellent long-term relief of angina.