Early outcomes of double-vessel coronary endarterectomy in comparison with single-vessel coronary endarterectomy.

Our goal was to investigate the safety of single- and double-vessel coronary endarterectomy as an adjunct to coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with diffuse coronary disease. In reviewing the records of 9,443 patients who underwent isolated coronary artery revascularization over a 4-year period, we found 310 patients (3.28%) who underwent concomitant coronary artery endarterectomy, 39 of whom (12.6%) required double endarterectomy (Group 2) and the rest of whom required single endarterectomy (Group 1). Variables of these groups were compared by means of univariate analysis. In Group 1, 76.3% were men, with a mean age of 58.73 +/- 9.36 yr. Regarding postoperative myocardial infarction as evaluated by electrocardiography and the MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase, 13% of the patients in Group 1 and 15.4% in Group 2 were so affected. The early mortality rate was 3.3% in Group 1 and 10.3% in Group 2 (P <0.05). In univariate analysis, the following variables were significant: 3-vessel disease, postoperative atrial fibrillation, dialysis, length of hospital stay, and death. In multivariate analysis of endarterectomized arteries, the vascular combinations most strongly associated with death were left anterior descending coronary artery + right coronary artery and right coronary artery + diagonal. There was no association between endarterectomy of particular vessels and perioperative myocardial infarction. Although coronary endarterectomy has become a safe procedure, adding a 2nd endarterectomy worsens the prognosis dramatically, and surgeons should be especially cautious about such an addition if the 1st endarterectomy is in left anterior descending coronary artery or right coronary artery territory.