This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Jochen Cremer Andreas Boening Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Puehler, T. Articles by Boening, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Puehler, T. Articles by Boening, A. Related Collections Cardiac - other Related Article

Successful six-year follow-up of a sutureless device for proximal anastomoses in a severely calcified ascending aorta

^a Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
^b Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Arnold-Heller-Strasse 7, D-24105 Kiel, Germany
^c Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Giessen, Rudolf-Buchheim-Str. 7, D-35392 Giessen, Germany

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-9419449824; fax: +49-9419449811.

E-mail address: thomas.puehler{at}klinik.uni-regensburg.de (T. Puehler).

Background: Aortic connector devices (ACDs) for proximal anastomoses of vein grafts during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) have widely failed during recent years. As a consequence ACDs have been withdrawn from the market. Method: We report on an 81-year-old patient who had undergone CABG for three-vessel disease. The proximal anastomosis was accomplished with an ACD (St Jude Medical) due to a highly calcified ascending aorta. Six years later the patient underwent aortic valve replacement, which offered the opportunity of visual inspection of the previous ACD anastomosis. Result: Coronary angiography demonstrated a perfectly patent ACD anastomosis with a sufficient sequential vein graft to the marginal and the postero-lateral branches. Intraoperatively, the nitinol stent of the ACD anastomosis was perfectly incorporated, and covered with a thin layer of endothelial cells. Discussion: Though poor, short- and mid-term results have led to the abandonment of ACDs, our case demonstrates a perfect anastomosis after a six-year follow-up.

Key Words: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); Vein graft; Anastomostic device

Related Article

eComment: Aortic connectors in coronary artery surgery

Marco Ricci and Tomas A. Salerno
Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery 2008 7: 672. [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Ricci and T. A. Salerno eComment: Aortic connectors in coronary artery surgery Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery, August 1, 2008; 7(4): 672 - 672. [Full Text] [PDF]