Twelve patients underwent cardiac surgical procedures after having previously received irradiation of the mediastinum for various types of malignancies (Hodgkin's disease, carcinoma of the breast and seminoma). The patients' ages ranged from 39 to 69 years (mean 57 years); nine patients were female and three male. The average length of time from radiation to surgery was 15 years (3-24 years interval). The patients were divided into two groups according to the type of heart disease: Group I included seven patients who developed coronary artery disease (CAD) despite minimal risk factors. Three asymptomatic patients developed sudden myocardial infarction. In two patients the myocardial infarction was complicated (with ventricular septal defect in one and ventricular septal defect plus ventricular aneurysm in the other). All seven patients were surgically managed. Internal thoracic artery (ITA) was used in three patients as a conduit of myocardial revascularization. There were two hospital deaths in this group. The five patients in Group II underwent aortic valve replacement for aortic stenoses. Prior to the irradiation, none of the patients had a documented history of rheumatic fever, bacterial endocartitis, significant murmur, etc. There were no deaths in this group. Intraoperative findings for both groups included thickening and/or fibrosis of the ascending aortic wall, coronary arteries and aortic valve tissue. Epicardium was whitish colored and thickened.

Aortocoronary bypass procedures for proximal lesions are accepted with widely documented excellent results, but are still controversial in their application for diffuse disease. However, failures of the single graft technique to small coronary branches with marginal flows are markedly reduced by the jump technique. In our experience with 447 angiographic controls from April 1978 to December 1980, the jump-graft patency rate was 87.8% versus 84.9% for single grafts, and as high as 96.3% in the subgroup of multiple jumps (sequential grafts). The sequence of the anastomoses as far as the individual flow is concerned significantly influences the results of the jump-graft technique.

In order to establish a satisfactory vein bypass anastomosis during myocardial revascularization, 2 findings are of special importance: the local wall quality and the actual lumen of the coronary artery, both altered by the arteriosclerotic disease. In certain cases, with diffuse triple vessel disease, the intraoperative decision for an endarteriectomy as a supplementary surgical means appears to be a logical consequence. In our own patient group of 50 restudied patients with an endarteriectomy of the LCA, we had a patency rate of 72%; in a subgroup it was as high as 84%, if performed locally and under full vision. Compared with extended core extraction, the latter technique only showed minor vessel irregularities proximal and distal to the bypass anastomosis and thus, in a long-term view, it opens up additional revascularization possibilities for severe coronary artery sclerosis.

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