Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass (OPCAB), the New Conventional Coronary Artery Bypass (CCAB) Technique

Abstract

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), has evolved over the last twenty-five years. Having pioneered this evolution for the last two decades and more, we have moved from an on-pump surgical unit to a completely off-pump surgical unit. This on-pump surgery was in vogue for the past six decades. This was labeled the Conventional CABG (CCAB). We have over the last two decades made off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) the new CCAB. To make this a reality, we had to invent, innovate, fabricate and modify techniques and technology, so as to make ourselves comfortable to perform all our CABGs without the use of the Heart-lung machine (HLM). We have over the last twenty years performed more than five thousand OPCAB surgeries in this city alone, with a mortality of less than 1%.