Total Coronary Artery Revascularization Through a Mini-Sternotomy.

Revascularization of all significantly stenosed vessels remains the goal of coronary artery bypass surgery. Recent improvements in endoscopic instruments have resulted in the evolution of selective left anterior descending artery bypass grafting through a limited anterior small thoracotomy (LAST) incision. A major limitation of this technique is the inaccessibility for complete surgical revascularization in multivessel disease.

Retrograde autologous priming of the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit reduces blood transfusion after coronary artery surgery.

Background: Hemodilution occurring with cardiopulmonary bypass imposes a risk for blood transfusion. Autologous priming of the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit at the initiation of bypass partially replaces the priming solution with autologous blood. We examined the efficacy of autologous priming of the circuit in reducing blood transfusion.