The advances in surgical techniques and stabilizing devices have made the off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) popular, and good results have been published. We analyzed the early results of OPCAB performed in our hospital.

Between January 2004 and December 2004, 23 patients underwent OPCAB. There were 14males and 9 females with mean age of 62.6±10.3years. Preoperative diagnoses were unstable angina in 13(57%), acute myocardial infarction in 9(39%), and stable angina in 1(4%). Preoperative angiographic diagnoses were three-vessel disease in 12 (52%), two-vessel disease in 8(35%), one-vessel disease in 1(4%), and left main disease in 2(9%).

The mean number of grafts was 2.6±0.9 per patient. Vessels accessed were left anterior descending artery in 23, diagonal branch in 14, obtuse marginal branch in 9, right coronary artery in 12, and posterior descending artery in 1. Left internal mammary artery were used in 22 patients and bilateral internal mammary arteries were used in 1 patient. There was no operative mortality. Postoperative complications were cerebral vascular accident in 1, postoperative bleeding which required operative management in 2, arrhythmia including atrial fibrillation in 5, and minor operative wound problem in 1. Pre-discharge graft patency was evaluated in 11 patients. One internal mammary artery graft was occluded in 11 internal mammary artery graft evaluated. The patency rate was 91%. Seventeen saphenous vein grafts were patent in 19 saphenous vein grafts and the patency rate was 89%.

Our result of OPCAB is promising and OPCAB is suggested to be the ideal technique with less morbidity and mortality.

There have been many parameters that determined the results of radiocephalic ffisutla. However, few reliable intraoperative parameters have been suggested until now. The purpose of this study was to find the correlation between intra-operative blood flow and early patency of radiocephalic fistula.

Between March 1998 and October 1999, 45 radiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas were constructed in 38 patients. Intra-operative blood flow measurements were made 10 minutes after complection of the vascular anastomoses with 3-4mm handheld flow probes. Patients were followed until failure of fistula or 3months after first hemodialysis with these fistulas. Intraoperative blood flow as well as age, sex, presence of diabetes, size of cephalic vein, thrill on the fistula and flow of radial artery were correlated with early patency.

The mean intraoperative blood flow was 195.9±16.7 mL/min ranged from 50 to 500 mL/min, and it was the only significant parameter that determined early patency of radiocephalic fistula. Fistulas with flow less than 150 ml/min(10 of 18) revealed higher failure rate than those of flow more than 150 ml/min(1 of 27), which was statistically significant(p<0.01). All of the patients with flow less than 70 ml/min(5 of 5) failed in maintaining patency within a month. However, the other variables were not correlated with early patency.

In conclusion intra-operative blood flow measurements can be performed with ease and intraoperative blood flow in radiocephalic fistula is well correlated with early patency of the fistula. And we rocommend that radio-cephalic fistula of flow less than 150mL/min should be observed carefully and that of flow less than 70mL/min must be abandoned intraoperatively.

Inflammatory reaction is the one of deteriorating causes of pulmonary function after cardiopulmonary bypass. And leukocytes play a major role in inflammatory reaction by producing cytotoxic oxygen free radicals, initiating complement cascade, and so on. We tested the hypothesis that reducing the circulating leukocyte by using leukocyte poor RBC(LPR) in priming solution, and low-dose aprotinin which reduces whole body inflammatory response can reduce inflammatory reaction and results in less release of cytokines and preserving better pulmonary function after cardiopulmonary bypass.

In a prospective, randomized study, 23 children undergoing open heart surgery were investigated. LPR was used in 8 patients(group 1), 8 patients received low-dose aprotinin(50,000 KIU per body weight in priming solution, group 2) and 7 patients were control group (group 3). Patients with complex heart diseases, body weight over 10kg, palliative surgery, and residual defect after surgery were excluded from this study. CBC, interleukin 6, and granulocyte elastase were analyzed after 60 minutes of cardiopulmonary bypass, and (A-a)DO₂(alveolar arterial oxygen difference) was measured postoperatively.

There was no statistically significant difference in interleukin 6 level, granulocyte elastase level, (A-a)DO₂, intubation period, mortality, pulmonary complication, and WBC count at postoperative 1st day.

Our results suggested that LPR in priming solution and low-dose aprotinin have little influence on the inflammatory reaction and pulmonary function deterioration caused by cardiopulmonary bypass. Although LPR in priming solution can reduce circulatory leukocyte, the leukocytes increase rapidly after initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass, so that reducing leukocytes by LPR use has little influence on the inflammatory reaction.