Use of extracorporeal life support for emergency coronary artery bypass grafting

Abstract

A 14-year old boy was admitted with an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (RCA) from the left sinus of Valsalva, with an interarterial course of the narrow proximal segment. He underwent coronary ostial augmentation and main pulmonary artery translocation to the left pulmonary artery. In the post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) period, he developed thrombotic occlusion of the RCA resulting in arrhythmia and ventricular dysfunction, requiring extracorporeal life support (ECLS) in the form of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation rather than CPB. After confirming this complication by cardiac catheterization, the right coronary artery territory was revascularized with a pedicled right internal thoracic artery graft. The entire procedure was performed on a beating heart using a stabilizer during ECLS. This strategy may be useful in situations with unstable haemodynamics and a low risk of blood loss. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.