In experienced hands, coronary endarterectomy (EA) has been performed with good results. The procedure can facilitate conversion of severe ungraftable disease to a graftable coronary artery, and provide outcomes comparable to CABG. Many surgeons are still reluctant to use coronary EA primarily because of increased mortality and myocardial infarction rate postoperatively compared with CABG alone.
The authors present the case of a 64-year-old man with hypertension, diabetes, and a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Cardiac catheterization showed severe 3-vessel coronary artery disease with depressed left ventricular function. Given the extent of the patient’s diffuse coronary disease, surgical intervention was denied at an outside facility and he was managed medically. Due to persistent ongoing angina, the patient was referred to Brigham and Women’s Hospital two months later. The patient subsequently underwent a LAD coronary endarterectomy with CABG x 3. At a 4-month follow up visit, the patient was doing well.
This video demonstrates a long segment left anterior descending coronary endarterectomy with saphenous vein angioplasty and LIMA-LAD. The postoperative anticoagulation protocol from Brigham and Women’s Hospital is also described.
This video is also authored by Luigino Nascimben.
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13 Comments
I enjoyed the video presentation and certainly agree that this technique is useful. I commonly apply endarterectomy to the RCA bifurcation when diseased and the distal branches are small, but have not done many to the LAD.
This technique is likely to be more needed in the future as we see our population changing to more diabetic patients with diffuse disease and previous multi vessel stunting.
In BSMMU, Dhaka we performed more than 100 cases of LAD endarterectomy where there was no alternative and we found good result.
Good technique, but about antithrombotic therapy?
Great presentation, however I would not underestimate the importance of doing a full Maze in addition to the triple vessel bypass giving his age and LV systolic dysfunction, however this is another discussion.
Well done.
In CGN , we perform lad endarterectomy with very good results . We use only aspirin in postop . Never plavix
Coronary Endarterectomy preceded Favaloro and the Leningrad pioneers, and there is good reason it has not been popularised.
Only a post-operative contrast study could evaluate this brave revascularisation attempt on this diabetic patient!
We should be always mindful of vascular biology and pathology, although the interventionalists seem occasionally oblivious to Virchow….
For localised atherocalcifications i do short on site endarterectomy..
If diffuse ones i prefer an open endarterectomy along the artery avoiding the risk of branches avulsion..using a saphenous patch angioplasty to roof the opening arteriotomy..following by arterial or SVG bypass..
Very good presentation, thank you. I perform coronary EA which is life saving when it’s mandatory to perform in diffusely diseased arteries without a suitable anastomosis site. Stabilizing proximal and distal plaque is crucial in open technique
Sequential LIMA grafting in that case would be effective and less invasive.
In response to : Younes Moutakiallah on Tue, 2017-01-10 17:59
Our anticoagulation protocol is described in the video: aspirin and plavix (plavix load followed by 75mg daily; a heparin drip is started on the day of surgery if chest tube output is less than 50mL for 2 consecutive hours; it is not titrated).
Thank you for your interest. We appreciate comments and feedback.
Very nice video. We reported the long-term results of this technique in 224 patients: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22502972
i enjoyed the video. I agree with the way to do it. i prefer salospir 100mg tb od and sintrom with a target INR 2-3 for 6 months and after it salospir 100mg tb od and plavix 75mg tb od.
Thank you for a really good teaching video… the procedure and the specimen did not show septal branches of the lad…. how important is it in your opinion to get the endarterectomy specimen out along with the septal perforators