Selective coronary vein bypass graft improves outcomes of patients with right coronary artery lesion

BACKGROUND: The benefits of selective coronary vein bypass grafting (SCVBG) for patients with severe diffuse lesions of the right coronary artery (RCA) who are unsuitable for coronary endarterectomy (CE) are unclear. METHODS: We recruited patients with diffuse lesions of the RCA undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery between January 2015 and December 2018 and matched SCVBG and CE patients on propensity score (PS). We evaluated the degree of single-stenosis in the RCA, incidence of perioperative myocardial infarction (MI) and major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), influencing factors of perioperative MACCE, long-term survival rate, and long-term MACCE incidence. RESULTS: Overall, 430 patients were enrolled: 344 (80%) underwent CE and 86 (20%) underwent SCVBG (n=78 and n=64, respectively, after PS matching). The incidence of perioperative MI and MACCE were significantly lower in the SCVBG group (5.1% vs. 1.5%, P<0.05; and 10.2% vs. 4.7%, P<0.05). When the vascular flow rate of the graft anastomosed to RCA in the SCVBG group was above 100 mL/min, the incidence of perioperative MACCE significantly increased [odds ratio (OR): 1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42–2.03]. Choosing the bilateral internal mammary artery for SCVBG reduced the incidence of perioperative MACCE (OR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68–0.92). There was no significant difference in the rates of long-term survival or MACCE between the two groups before or after PS matching (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SCVBG is an acceptable surgical intervention for patients with severe diffuse RCA lesions.