MYOCARDIAL REVASCULARIZATION FOR THE 3RD TIME - CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FOLLOW-UP

Twenty-five patients presenting for a third revascularization procedure were retrospectively reviewed at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL. This represents 0.5 percent of the total revascularization cases over a five-year period extending from 1985 through 1989. Perioperative mortality was none, and seven complications occurred in six patients. Internal mammary arteries were used for revascularization in 60 percent of this group. Follow-up reveals that only one patient has died secondary to an arrhythmia. All patients except one are symptomatically improved, and 18 patients remain angina free at a mean follow-up of 22.3 months. It is therefore concluded that patients are clinically improved with a third revascularization, and this procedure should be offered as an effective means of treatment.