Adjunctive transmyocardial revascularization: five-year follow-up of a prospective, randomized trial.

Background: In a prospective, randomized trial involving 263 patients who would be incompletely revascularized by coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) alone, CABG plus transmyocardial revascularization (CABG/TMR) provided an early mortality benefit with similar angina relief compared with CABG alone at 1 year. We evaluated the long-term outcome of patients randomized to CABG/TMR or CABG alone.

Methods: Thirteen centers that enrolled 83% (218/263) of the patients in the original trial participated in this longitudinal study.

Transmyocardial laser therapy: a strategic approach.

Background: Coronary artery bypass and percutaneous intervention have become the established methods of coronary revascularization in treating angina pectoris. Subsets of angina patients, however, are not amenable to either of these procedures. Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR) has been developed as a potential treatment to address such patients, and clinical research to date illustrates the success of TMR for this patient group.