Repair of Separated Coronary Segments Resulting From a Complicated Coronary Endarterectomy

Cardiac surgeons are treating an increasing number of patients with diffuse coronary artery disease that requires the use of alternative surgical techniques. We present a patient who had a technically unsatisfactory endarterectomy of the left anterior descending coronary artery. We were left with only 3 segments of properly endarterectomized coronary bed areas, separated with totally disintegrated coronary bed portions. These 3 segments were incorporated into the venous graft, with the inflow obtained from the left internal thoracic artery. We believe that this approach may be the rescue technique for complicated coronary artery endarterectomy.