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Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is perceived as the most common treatment for left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease with good results compared to left-main stenting or medical therapy.  Surgical patch angioplasty (SPA) may present a substitute to the standard CABG in patients with isolated LMCA disease, and it offers physiological antegrade myocardial perfusion, keeps ostial patency and saves bypass material. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of patch osteoplasty in patients with isolated LMCA stenosis. Methods: This is a retrospective study performed on eight patients with angiographically proven ostial or proximal LMCA stenosis who underwent surgical patch angioplasty. Two of them had associated right coronary artery bypass grafting. All patients were performed with cardiopulmonary bypass and saphenous vein patch. An anterior approach with transverse aortotomy was utilized in all cases. Patients were followed-up clinically for a mean period of 14 months (ranging from 26 to 6 months) for recurrence of symptoms and any postoperative complications. Results: The early postoperative period was uneventful in all patients. No perioperative mortality was reported. Two patients had postoperative atrial fibrillation, and one patient with poor left ventricular function required preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump. Angiography was done in the first three cases, and all showed no restenosis and no vein patch dilatation. Conclusion: Surgical patch angioplasty may be a safe and suitable alternative to CABG in selected patients with isolated ostial LMCA stenosis. Further studies are needed to compare the results of the SPA with those of standard CABG and LMCA stenting.

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Background: The introduction of endoscopic saphenous vein graft harvesting has been known for two decades. It offers benefits related to decreased rate of donner site complications. Debates related to its safety in terms of trauma to the wall of the venous graft and long-term graft patency have been raised, but few studies had investigated this point. Our aim is to compare the endoscopic saphenous vein harvest and conventional harvest techniques, in terms of the integrity of the wall of the vein graft. Methods: A prospective study in which we examined 80 samples of saphenous vein from 80 patients to whom coronary artery bypass grafting was done. Patients randomly were assigned to either technique. Vein samples were taken from patients having the conventional technique (group 1, 40 patients) and from patients having endoscopic vein harvest (group 2, 40 patients). Vein samples were stained with Hematoxylin & Eosin, Masson’s trichrome, and immunohistochemical stain for CD 31 and then examined by light microscopy. The degree of intimal staining was graded from 0% to 100%, which is directly related to the degree of intimal preservation (the least injury, the more the staining score) and vein media changes were reported. Results: Patient characteristics were comparable in the groups. Group 1 (conventional group) was better than group 2 (endoscopic group), regarding endothelial integrity and medial changes although it was statistically not significant. Conclusion: Both the conventional and endoscopic techniques are comparable, regarding the intimal preservation of the venous graft.