Off-Pump vs. On-Pump CABG: Does It Make a Difference?

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery (performed on a beating heart) was developed in the hope of reducing perioperative complications related to the use of cardiopulmonary bypass and to the cross-clamping of the aorta. Previously, the results of the CORONARY study showed that at 30 days, the rate of primary composite outcome of death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or new renal failure requiring dialysis did not differ between patients who underwent off-pump CABG and those who underwent on-pump CABG (JW Cardiology Mar 26 2012). In two new reports, the CORONARY investigators present their 1-year results, and investigators for the industry-funded GOPCABE trial, a comparison of on- and off-pump CABG in elderly patients,…