Coronary artery grafting in infants

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with cardiac vale repair is an uncommon surgery in infants. CABG is technically demanding in infants due to the small size not only of the coronary arteries but also the potential graft arteries. The short and long-term outcome of surgery is not known and thus has largely been avoided. RESULTS: We report the case histories of two infants in whom CABG was undertaken successfully as a life-saving measure. Case 1: This infant needed an arterial switch operation after which the right coronary artery (RCA) was stenosed resulting in low cardiac output. After the right internal mammary artery (RIMA) was used to anastamose the RCA, the hemodynamic status improved drastically. Case 2: This infant underwent surgical correction for Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA). Postoperatively, she was in low cardiac output. She was found to have an occluded left coronary artery and mitral regurgitation (MR). After she underwent left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to Left Anterior Descending (LAD) anastamosis and mitral valve repair, the clinical condition improved dramatically. CONCLUSION: CABG is an uncommon operation in infants. This surgery is technically difficult. The long term results are not known and there are very few reports for the same. Though such an operation is best avoided, it can be used as a desperate life saving measure.