[Surgery of the left coronary trunk by the transpulmonary approach. 10 cases].

The most common lesions of the left main coronary artery are atheromatous lesions (1% of all "coronary patients") but traumatic lesions may occur during coronary arteriography or percutaneous coronary angioplasty. To these must be added severe infectious lesions of the aortic annulus in acute endocarditis affecting the valve or a valvular prosthesis. The 10 cases reported here (4 atheromatous, 1 traumatic and 5 infectious lesions) were treated by transpulmonary repair surgery of the left main vessel. The operations performed were endarterectomy alone (2 cases) or associated with venous graft (2 cases), resection and venous graft (1 case) and suprasigmoidal prosthetic reimplantation (5 cases). There were two early post-operative deaths (one due to major hypocoagulation with secondary hypoxia and one from irreversible cardiogenic shock); another patient died of a ruptured intracerebral mycotic aneurysm 2 months after the operation. The 7 remaining patients have been asymptomatic for 1 year, and angiographies performed on 4 occasions since surgery have given "satisfactory results". The transpulmonary route gives direct access to the left main coronary artery and facilitates a reconstructive surgery adapted to the lesions encountered.