Practice improves performance on a coronary anastomosis simulator, attending surgeon supervision does not.

Objectives: Enthusiasm for simulation early in cardiothoracic surgery training is growing, yet evidence demonstrating its utility is limited. We examined the effect of supervised and unsupervised training on coronary anastomosis performance in a randomized trial among medical students.

Methods: Forty-five medical students were recruited for this single-blinded, randomized controlled trial using a low-fidelity simulator.

Acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery: is minocycline protective?

Background And Objectives: Acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac bypass surgery (CABG) is common and carries a significant association with morbidity and mortality. Since minocycline therapy attenuates kidney injury in animal models of AKI, we tested its effects in patients undergoing CABG.

Design, Setting, Participants And Measurements: This is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multi-center study.

Conduits for coronary bypass: strategies.

Strategic planning is integral to any operation but complexity varies immensely and therefore the effort necessary to create the optimal plan. The previous three reports have discussed individual conduits and herein is an attempt to present approaches to common situations which the author favors. Although much has been learned over 45 years about use and subsequent behavior of venous and arterial grafts we continue to learn and, as a result, evolve new strategies or modify those now popular.

Conduits for Coronary Bypass: Arteries Other Than the Internal Thoracic Artery's.

This is the third in a series on coronary artery bypass which reviews three alternative arterial conduits. The radial artery has become the most widely used of the three and accumulating experience demonstrates better patency at 10 years versus saphenous vein. Drawbacks are a long incision on the forearm, the propensity for spasm and persistent sensory disturbance in about 10%.