Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with calcified ascending aorta: aortic no-touch technique.

To perform coronary artery bypass grafting safely for patients with calcified ascending aorta, an "aortic no-touch technique," which consisted of (1) maximal utilization of in situ arterial grafts (2) fibrillatory arrest without aortic cross-clamp, (3) left ventricular venting through the right superior pulmonary vein, and (4) femoral artery perfusion, was attempted in 3 patients. All were men, aged 64, 70, and 56 years, respectively, with triple-vessel disease with severe atherosclerotic lesion in the ascending aorta. Bilateral internal mammary arteries and the right gastroepiploic artery were used in all patients. All patients survived without evidence of perioperative myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular accident.