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Objectives: A limited number of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) currently receive bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITA) as a consequence of lack of evidence on survival benefit and concerns about sternal wound complications. This study was undertaken to determine the impact of BITA grafting on short- and long-term outcomes in obese patients., Methods: Propensity score matching for short- and long-term outcomes was conducted for 1522 obese (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) patients undergoing CABG using BITA (n = 229, 15.0%) or a single internal thoracic artery (SITA, n = 1293, 85.0%)., Results: Propensity score matching created 229 matching sets. In the matched sample, operative mortality (within 30 days) occurred in 3 (1.3%) and 4 (1.7%) patients in the BITA and SITA groups, respectively (P = 1). Deep sternal wound infection occurred in 6 (2.6%) and 2 (0.9%) patients (P = .2) in the BITA and SITA group, respectively. After a median follow-up of 4.5 ± 3.3 years, the use of BITA was associated with an improved late survival (hazard ratio [HR], 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.13-0.97; P = .03) and a reduced need for repeat revascularization (HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.23-0.85; P = .01)., Conclusions: BITA grafting can be safely offered to obese patients with significant long-term advantages without substantial additional risk of operative complications including deep sternal wound infection., (Copyright © 2015 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Whether the survival benefit from coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), compared with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), for multivessel disease extends to the older segment of the population remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether the effect on survival of PCI compared with CABG is related to the age of the patient., Methods: Propensity score-matching analysis was conducted on 6723 patients (PCI = 1097, CABG = 5626) with multivessel coronary artery disease. In the PCI group, drug-eluting stents were used in 917 (83.5%) patients; bare metal stents were used in only 180 patients (16.5%). Nonparametric, bootstrap, point-wise confidence limits were obtained for PCI:CABG odds and hazard ratios for early (within 12 months) and late hazard phase (beyond 12 months) for a variety of age groups., Results: After a mean follow-up time of 5.5 ± 3.2 years, a total of 301 deaths were recorded in the matched sample (208 in the PCI group and 93 in the CABG group). Overall survival was 95% ± 0.6% versus 95% ± 0.6% at 1 year, 84% ± 1.0% versus 92.4% ± 0.8% at 5 years, and 75% ± 1.6% versus 90% ± 1.0% at 8 years, for the PCI and CABG groups, respectively (log rank P < .001). PCI did not confer any significant benefit compared with CABG during the early hazard phase (within 12 months), but the survival-probability loss from PCI compared with CABG during the late hazard phase was present across all age groups. The hazard ratio declined from 3.8 to 3.4 and was statistically significant (lower limit >1 across all ages, ranging from 1.5 to 2.4)., Conclusions: Compared with PCI, CABG leads to a significant reduction in late-phase mortality across all age groups., (Copyright © 2015 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We undertook a single-center, 12 years outcomes analysis of the influence of bilateral internal mammary arteries (BIMA) over single internal mammary artery (SIMA) on short-term outcomes and long-term outcomes by means of propensity score matching technique in accordance to current recommendations., Methods: A propensity score was generated for each patient from a multivariable logistic regression model based on 20 pretreatment covariates. The study population consisted of 4195 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft procedure using SIMA (n = 3445; 78.3%) or BIMA (n = 750; 21.7%). A total of 750 matching sets were derived., Results: The BIMA group was associated with an increased rate of superficial sternal wound infection (5.6% vs 1.7%; P = .0001) but the incidence of deep sternal wound infection was comparable between the 2 groups, at 2.1% and 1.5% in BIMA and SIMA groups, respectively (P = .43). With regard to other postoperative complications the 2 groups were comparable. Operative mortality rate did not significantly differ between the 2 groups, at 0.7% and 1.2% in the BIMA and SIMA groups, respectively (P = .28). After a mean follow-up time of 4.8 ± 3.2 years, BIMA use was associated with a significantly lower risk for late mortality (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval 0.38-0.97; P = .03) and need for repeat revascularization (hazard ratio, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.96; P = .03)., Conclusions: When compared with SIMA grafting, BIMA use did not increase operative morbidity and mortality and was associated with a better long-term survival., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: There is a growing perception that peripheral cannulation through the femoral artery, by reversing the flow in the thoracoabdominal aorta, may increase the risk of retrograde brain embolization in aortic surgery. Central cannulation sites, including the right axillary artery, have been reported to improve operative outcomes by allowing antegrade blood flow. However, peripheral cannulation still remains largely used because a consensus for the routine use of central cannulation approaches has not been reached., Methods: A meta-analysis of comparative studies reporting operative outcomes using central cannulation versus peripheral cannulation was performed. Pooled weighted incidence rates for end points of interest were obtained using an inverse variance model., Results: A total of 4476 patients were included in the final analysis. Central cannulation was used in 2797 patients, and peripheral cannulation was used in 1679 patients. Central cannulation showed a protective effect on in-hospital mortality (risk ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-0.7; P < .001) and permanent neurologic deficit (risk ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.90; P = .005) when compared with peripheral cannulation. A trend toward an increased benefit in terms of reduced in-hospital mortality was observed when only the right axillary artery was used as the central cannulation approach (risk ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.22-0.55; P < .001; I(2) = 0%)., Conclusions: Central cannulation was superior to peripheral cannulation in reducing in-hospital mortality and the incidence of permanent neurologic deficit. This superiority was particularly evident when the axillary artery was used for central cannulation., (Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Increasing evidence from observational cohort studies supports a survival advantage from bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) relative to single internal thoracic artery (SITA) grafts in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Whether the survival benefit from BITA is related to patient age and any potential age cutoff for the loss of survival benefit from BITA remain to be determined., Methods: Flexible parametric spline survival model was used to investigate the survival benefit from BITA across patient age groups. The study population consisted of 4190 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with SITA (n = 3442; 81%) or BITA (n = 748; 19%)., Results: A total of 376 deaths (BITA, n = 29; SITA, n = 347) were recorded after a mean follow-up of 4.9 ± 3.2 years (maximum, 12.2 years). Nonparametric survival probabilities at 1-, 5-, and 10-year follow-ups were 94.9% ± 0.3% versus 98.0% ± 0.5%, 90.7% ± 0.5% versus 95.5% ± 0.9%, and 84.2% ± 1.0% versus 93.7% ± 1.4% in the SITA and BITA groups, respectively. Interaction between age and BITA (age*BITA) was found to affect survival significantly (coefficient, 0.056; SE, 0.02; P = .015). BITA was associated with reduced risk of mortality in patients aged 69 years and younger (fully adjusted hazard ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.98; P = .04). On the other hand, for patients aged older than 69 years, BITA did not add any significant survival advantage (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-2.14; P = .37)., Conclusions: This study provides robust scientific evidence for the loss of survival benefit from BITA for patients older than 69 years., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The effectiveness of the routine retrosternal placement of a gentamicin-impregnated collagen sponge (GICS) implant before sternotomy closure is currently a matter of some controversy. We aimed to develop a scoring system to guide decision making for the use of GICS to prevent deep sternal wound infection., Methods: Fast backward elimination on predictors, including GICS, was performed using the Lawless and Singhal method. The scoring system was reported as a partial nomogram that can be used to manually obtain predicted individual risk of deep sternal wound infection from the regression model. Bootstrapping validation of the regression models was performed., Results: The final populations consisted of 8750 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery through full sternotomy during the study period. A total of 329 patients (3.8%) received GICS implant. The overall incidence of deep sternal wound infection was lower among patients who received GICS implant (0.6%) than patients who did not (2.01%) (P=.02). A nomogram to predict the individual risk for deep sternal wound infection was developed that included the use of GICS. Bootstrapping validation confirmed a good discriminative power of the models., Conclusions: The scoring system provides an impartial assessment of the decision-making process for clinicians to establish if GICS implant is effective in reducing the risk for deep sternal wound infection in individual patients undergoing cardiac surgery through full sternotomy., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) has been proposed to reduce surgical morbidity and improve long-term outcomes compared with stenting in the treatment of isolated proximal left anterior descending artery. However, the survival benefit from MIDCAB still needs to be demonstrated, in particular, because percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stents (DES-PCI) continues to be considered the initial treatment strategy. We conducted a 10-year follow-up, single-center, propensity score-matched MIDCAB versus DES-PCI comparison., Methods: A total of 1033 patients (303 MIDCAB and 730 DES-PCI) with isolated proximal left anterior descending disease were included. Propensity score matching was used to compare 303 pairs of MIDCAB and DES-PCI patients., Results: MIDCAB and DES-PCI presented with comparable 30-day mortality (2 of 303 [0.6%] vs 1 of 303 [0.3%]; P=1.0). At 10 years, DES-PCI was associated with a 2.19-fold increased risk of late death (95% confidence interval, 1.15-4.17), a 2.0-fold increased risk of repeat revascularization (95% confidence interval, 1.20-3.47), and a 2.14-fold increased risk of the composite of death and repeat revascularization (95% confidence interval, 1.41-3.24)., Conclusions: These findings strongly support a survival benefit from MIDCAB at long-term follow-up compared with DES-PCI in the treatment of isolated left anterior descending disease., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite their well-established advantages, bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITA) are still largely underused. This is partly because of the technical complexities associated with the use of the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) to guarantee the universally accepted gold standard left internal thoracic artery (LITA) to left anterior descending artery (LAD) graft. The use of the in situ RITA for LAD grafting is a less technically demanding strategy. The impact of this strategy on early and late outcomes is investigated in the context of BITA usage., Methods: Among 1667 patients undergoing first-time isolated coronary artery bypass grafting using BITA, in situ RITA for LAD grafting was used in 546 patients compared with in situ LITA to LAD in 1121 patients. Propensity score matching was carried out to investigate the impact of in situ RITA to LAD on early and late outcomes including mortality and need for repeat revascularization., Results: A total of 546 propensity matched pairs were available for comparison. In the propensity matched cohort, the mean follow-up time was 7.8±3.8 years. RITA to LAD did not increase the risk for late death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-1.26), the need for repeat revascularization (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70-2.42), and the composite of death or repeat revascularization (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.64-1.14)., Conclusions: Using in situ BITA with retrosternal in situ RITA for LAD grafting is a technically less demanding, safe, and effective strategy that can increase usage of BITA by avoiding a composite graft configuration or technically challenging retrocaval routing of in situ RITA through the transverse sinus., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The detrimental effect of active smoking on operative outcome after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still debated and smoking cessation programs are usually deferred until after surgery. The potential benefit from smoking cessation on postoperative outcomes is investigated in this study., Methods: A retrospective analysis on a large cohort of patients who underwent CABG at a single institution was performed. Generalized boosted regression modeling was used to estimate the multinominal propensity scores for smoking status categories and the average treatment effect on the treated was calculated for all outcomes of interest., Results: A total of 6113 patients who underwent isolated CABG for the first time were included. At baseline, there were 640 (10.4%) current smokers, 3309 (54.1%) ex-smokers, and 2164 (35.3%) nonsmokers. Multilevel propensity score weighted analysis showed a beneficial effect of smoking cessation compared with current smoking, which increased the risk for all major pulmonary complications (odds ratio [OR], 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-2.10; P = .006), including reintubation (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.17-3.25; P = .01), full tracheostomy (OR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.49-6.18; P = .002), lung infection/consolidation (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.02-2.02; P = .03). Although smoking cessation did not significantly improve other outcomes, it was associated with a nonsignificant trend toward a decreased risk for in-hospital mortality (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 0.85-3.91; P = .1)., Conclusions: This study showed that smoking cessation before CABG reduced the risk of serious pulmonary complications. The present findings indicate that embarking on a smoking cessation program should not be deferred until after surgery., (Copyright © 2014 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)