Coronary surgery-A review of the 2022 literature

In recent years coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has become established as the gold standard for the treatment of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) [1]. Even in 2022 this evidence has been continuously confirmed, especially in multivessel disease with high anatomical complexity and/or main stem stenosis. Worldwide, long-term survival appears to be better in patients after CABG than after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), regardless of geographic location [2] and even though PCI is less invasive and associated with a faster recovery, in the literature the 30-day mortality is the same as with CABG. Therefore, PCI is probably not less dangerous than CABG [3]. With respect to aspects of the surgical technique the evidence for the radial artery as the best second bypass graft increased and the patency rate of the right mammary artery has been questioned [4]. Patient selection for bypass surgery and surgical precision during bypass surgery currently appear to be the greatest modifiers of surgical success. The focus of this literature review is on the surgically relevant aspects. Further treatment-relevant information on diagnostics and drug treatment is briefly summarized.