Left thoracotomy and femoro-femoral bypass for reoperative revascularization of the posterior coronary circulation.

Left thoracotomy and femoro-femoral cardiopulmonary bypass has been used for reoperation in five patients requiring coronary bypass graft into the inferolateral surface of the heart. Five patients had refractory angina pectoris and angiographic occlusion of lateral wall native vessels or previous occluded vein grafts and all had positive exercise test. Four of the five had patent internal mammary to the LAD. Following supine positioning and removal of the saphenous vein and isolation of the femoral artery and femoral vein, a left fifth interspace thoracotomy was made, the patient heparinized and cannulated for cardiopulmonary bypass, the pericardium opened, the heart dissected free, and either the internal mammary artery dissected off the left chest wall or saphenous vein grafts used to bypass the appropriate lesions. The proximal inflow was the descending thoracic aorta making tunnels for the vein grafts through the posterior pericardium. All of the patients did well in the postoperative period. This technique is recommended for reoperations in patients with documented inferolateral ischemia as the primary cause of symptomatology with mitigating circumstances against an anterior approach.