New Proximal Anastomosis Technique for Calcified Ascending Aorta in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

To deal with calcified ascending aorta during coronary artery bypass grafting, we describe an alternative technique to create a clampless proximal anastomosis using a Foley catheter and polypropylene suture. In 30 patients, the number of distal anastomoses averaged 3.1 +/- 0.7, and mean time of proximal anastomosis was 18.9 +/- 1.3 minutes. Neither early nor late death occurred. Stroke occurred in 2 high-risk patients. At mean 1.6 +/- 0.5 years of follow-up, 1 patient sustained recurrent angina, and graft patency was 93%. These favorable outcomes show that this alternative technique is a safe and effective approach to calcified ascending aorta in coronary artery bypass grafting.