CABG under thoracic and lumbar epidural block in a conscious patient--a case report.

In summary, a coronary artery bypass graft was carried out on an awake patient with the aid of lumbar and thoracic epidural anesthesia, due to dissection of the saphenous graft from the lower limb. The procedure was done using an off pump technique and the patient required no extra sedation of analgesia. In conclusion, we think that many high risk patients could be treated using this technique and that awake CABG seems to be a promising adjunct to current minimally invasive CABG techniques.