Operative risk in patients with previous coronary artery bypass
K. S. Scher and D. A. Tice
The records of 141 patients who had had coronary artery bypass and
myocardial revascularization were reviewed. Fifteen percent (20) of the
patients in this series required a surgical procedure from three months to
five years following coronary artery bypass. Twelve percent (16) of these
patients had elective operations, and 3% had emergency operations. In the
elective group there were no deaths. One patient had a proved myocardial
infarction, and three patients had transient arrhythmias with no changes in
myocardial enzymes. In the emergency group there was one death, from sepsis
following splenectomy for splenic abscess. Although the series is small,
the data suggest that patients with coronary artery disease who have had
myocardial revascularization are acceptable risks for elective and
emergency operations. Whether the risk is lower in this group as compared
to that in other patients with coronary disease who have not had bypass
surgery has not been demonstrated.
