Author(s)

Dominic Emerson^1,2, Gregory Trachiotis^2,3

¹Resident in Surgery, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
²Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Heart Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington DC, USA.
³The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington DC, USA.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains one of the most common procedures worldwide, and remains the gold standard therapy for symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) that involves the left main coronary artery, triple vessel CAD with or without left ventricular dysfunction, and other complex coronary CAD not amenable to percutaneous intervention, especially in diabetic patients or those with chronic total coronary occlusion. The majority of CABG operations are performed utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass, though beating heart or off-pump strategies have gained popularity by some surgeons. This review focuses on current technical strategies, and advances in conduit harvest and utility, and fundamental management components of cardiopulmonary bypass and beating heart principles.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass, Beating Heart, Mini-Circuit

Emerson, D. and Trachiotis, G. (2016) Conventional Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. World Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, 6, 55-60. doi: 10.4236/wjcs.2016.64010.