Most patients with diffuse coronary disease require endarterectomy for revascularization. In view of the high morbidity and mortality associated with coronary endarterectomy, patch angioplasty and reconstruction of the coronary artery was developed. We retrospectively evaluated 104 patients who underwent mammary artery patch angioplasty of the left anterior descending coronary artery. The procedure consisted of laying open the entire diseased segment of the coronary artery and patching it with an in-situ left internal mammary artery onlay patch, without endarterectomy, in an off-pump procedure. One (0.9%) patient died, 2 (1.8%) suffered perioperative myocardial infarction, and an intraaortic balloon pump was used in 2. The mean blood loss was 224 mL. Intensive care unit stay was 2.5 days, and hospital stay was 7.8 days. At 1-year follow-up, most patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I. Follow-up angiography was carried out in 16 patients and showed good patency of all anastomoses. Arterial patch reconstruction of the left anterior descending coronary artery can be performed safely and effectively in an off-pump procedure, with excellent early and intermediate results.

Isolated congenital intrapericardial aneurysm of the left atrium (LA) or the left atrial appendage (LAA) is a rare anomaly [Zhao 1999]. The patient usually presents with features of systemic embolization, serious arrhythmia, and severe congestive cardiac failure as a complication, which can be fatal. Once the condition is diagnosed, surgery is indicated [Zhao 1999]. We report a case of congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm in a woman who underwent excision of the same.

OPCAB (off pump coronary artery bypass) has become a preferred technique of coronary revascularization in India, and more so in the East. This technique was restarted by Buffalo and Bennetti who had published their results in 1985. Since then, there has been a great enthusiasm among coronary surgeons to develop and standardize this technique of CABG (coronary artery bypass grafting). In the late nineties, nearly all the coronary centers in India started performing this technique. But, by the early 2000, only a few surgeons continued this practice. Only those who could perform this OPCAB technique in nearly 100% of their patients continued this and the rest of them returned back to the conventional on pump CABG. To attain this result, we had to re-engineer our technique of anesthesia, surgical technique, stabilization, and positioning of the heart to enable us to perform OPCAB in all patients who needed CABG. We have analyzed our last 3000 patients operated by the same surgeon (Dr MPV), in the same center with the same team. As OPCAB was the only procedure performed for coronary revascularization, we have compared our first 1000 patients, with the second 2000 patients that underwent the procedure. Our technique and our results are presented.

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Objective: Hemodynamic deterioration during positioning of the heart has been the most critical complication of off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. Pre-operative use of intra-aortic balloon pump has been shown to prevent this complication in high risk patients. The role of balloon pump in high risk patients has been questioned by our group. We modified the role of balloon pump in our patients, thus avoiding the conversion to cardiopulmonary bypass. Methods: 4063 off-pump coronary bypass surgeries were performed by a single surgeon in our center, over thirteen years. 130 intra-aortic balloons used between July 2002 and December 2015 were removed from the theater, once the distal anastomosis was performed. We studied this group of patients for-time and need for insertion, duration of balloon used, local insertion problems and survival. Results: Initially, we inserted intra-aortic balloons in high risk patients. We observed that, patients with low ejection fraction and patients with critical left main coronary artery disease were not the ones who actually needed balloon pump support. It was the patients who had ongoing ischemia, with preserved left ventricular function, and ST depression intra-operatively, who needed balloon pump support to perform complete anatomical revascularization. Conclusions: Intra-aortic balloon pump has helped us to position the heart without hemodynamic instability, thereby avoiding conversion to cardiopulmonary bypass. This enabled us to perform off-pump surgery in virtually all areas of the heart, thus maintaining perfect hemodynamics.