METHODS: From January 2010 to November 2016, 1900 consecutive patients underwent OPCAB surgery at the University Hospitals of Leuven. The first group (n = 1487) received non-skeletonised IMA grafts, whereas the second group (n = 413) received skeletonised grafts. Optimal wound management was pursued in all patients. A new four-grade classification for SWC was developed. Incidence and grade of SWC as well as overall survival were assessed.
RESULTS: Analysis of diabetic patients showed a lower incidence of SWC in the skeletonised (12/141, 8.5%) compared to the non-skeletonised group (82/414, 19.8%) [odds ratio 0.46, 95% confidence interval (0.23;0.88), p = 0.019] as well as a lower grade [0.45 (0.24;0.871), p = 0.018]. There was no significant effect on overall survival [0.67 (0.19;2.32), p = 0.529]. Subanalysis of this population revealed that the observed effects were most prominent in patients receiving BIMA grafts, with 6/56 (10.7%) SWC in the skeletonised and 62/252 (24.6%) in the non-skeletonised group [0.37 (0.15;0.90), p = 0.028 for incidence], as well as a lower grade [0.36 (0.15;0.88), p = 0.025]. These advantages were not significant in diabetic patients receiving SIMA grafts nor in the full study population.
CONCLUSIONS: This study, using a more sensitive classification of SWC, shows in a large group of patients that, in combination with optimized wound management, the skeletonisation technique is associated with a clear reduction in the incidence and grade of SWC in diabetic patients receiving BIMA grafts. This encourages the extension of BIMA use in OPCAB to this risk population.