Operative risk in patients with previous coronary artery bypass.

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.