HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wechsler, A. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wechsler, A. S.

Ann Thorac Surg 1998;66:S1
© 1998 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Introduction

^a Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Hahnemann School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

This supplement comprises the proceedings of the January 24, 1998, symposium "Risk Management in CABG: Significant Surgical Considerations." Held just before The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, this program was the sixth in the risk management series. Previous meetings addressed general risk parameters for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, focusing on economic aspects of CABG and on processes by which practitioners can minimize risk while improving both surgical performance and patient outcomes.

This year’s program expanded on the risk concept and featured an international faculty of experts to present leading-edge clinical and research findings. The program began with a discussion of new arterial grafting techniques and conduits, including the radial and gastroepiploic arteries. A discussion of the mechanism of action, efficacy, and safety of the serine protease inhibitor aprotinin focused on its effects on graft patency and blood loss in cardiac surgery, with specific attention to blood-conservation and salvage methods.

Despite advances in surgical techniques, equipment, and anesthesia practice, the systemic inflammatory response to bypass continues to adversely affect perioperative organ function. Discussion of the dynamics of this response, including a reevaluation of the intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation pathways, set the stage for intense audience discussion about mediating this situation. A presentation on endothelial response to bypass and central nervous system effects followed; audience consensus indicated high interest in learning more about these matters.

Morbidity and mortality associated with bypass, pathophysiologic events associated with bypass, and pharmacologic interventions to improve hemostasis, as well as the significance of bypass on the occurrence of postoperative cerebral dysfunction, remain topics under intensive clinical scrutiny. This series will continue exploring these topics, presenting clinical data to support new techniques and pharmacologic entities, during the 1999 Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

This series continues to be underwritten by an unrestricted grant from Bayer Corporation.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wechsler, A. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wechsler, A. S.