First clinical results with a 30 degrees end-to-side coronary anastomosis coupler

• Published in: European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery 2005-05, Vol.27 (5), p.876-881
• Main Authors: Boening, Andreas, Schoeneich, Felix, Lichtenberg, Arthur, Bagaev, Eric, Cremer, Jochen T, Klima, Uwe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Anastomosis, Surgical - instrumentation; Anastomosis, Surgical - methods; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Artery Bypass - methods; Coronary Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Disease - surgery; Equipment Design; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Saphenous Vein - transplantation; Suture Techniques; Treatment Outcome; Vascular Patency
• ISSN: 1010-7940
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcts.2004.12.065

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel 30 degrees end-to-side coronary anastomotic coupler (Converge Medical, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) that facilitates a non-penetrating, sutureless vein graft to coronary artery anastomosis. The Coupler utilizes a set of concentric mating frames approximating adjacent vessel tissue allowing for biological healing of the anastomosis. The frames are manufactured from Nitinol, a nickel titanium super-elastic metal alloy. The Nitinol frames attach the bypass graft to the coronary artery in a 30 degrees end-to-side configuration. Between November 2002 and March 2003 a total of 46 patients (44 male) with a mean age of 63.6+/-7.5 years were admitted for coronary artery revascularization and included in the study. The mean LVEF was 60.6+/-12.4%. Thirty-three patients were successfully treated with the Coupler. Nine patients did not meet the intraoperative inclusion criteria, and were excluded from the study due to small (