Off-pump bypass of the left anterior descending coronary artery: 23- to 34-year follow-up.

Objective: We sought to develop a baseline for long-term survival of patients after off-pump bypass of the left anterior descending coronary artery with the heart beating.

Methods: We reviewed results for 241 consecutive patients with significant obstruction of the left anterior descending coronary artery who underwent surgery between November 1969 and the end of 1980. The off-pump operative technique involved elevating and stabilizing a segment of the distal left anterior descending coronary artery with 4 traction sutures.

Off-pump bypass surgery: the early experience, 1969-1985.

This is a review of 733 patients who underwent off-pump bypass surgery of the right coronary artery and left anterior descending coronary artery between 1969 and 1985. Two hundred sixty-four patients underwent single bypass of the left anterior descending coronary artery, and 79 patients underwent single bypass of the right coronary artery. Both the left anterior descending and right coronary arteries were bypassed in 390 patients.