Background: Off pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) has become a common technique for conducting coronary artery surgery. There has been some concern that the anastomoses might not be conducted as effectively on the beating heart, which could lead to poor long-term results. The aim of the present study was to follow up all patients who had undergone OPCAB at our institution to determine clinical outcomes up to 5 years postoperatively.

Methods: All living patients who had undergone OPCAB up until December 2000 were telephoned. For those who could be contacted, a detailed questionnaire was completed and the data were analysed.

Results: The technique of OPCAB was carried out on 312 patients. Thirteen of these patients died, five perioperatively. Actuarial survival at 5 years was 94.6% and freedom from cardiac related events was 92.1%. There were only two patients with angina worse than class I. Patients showed a high rate of compliance with risk factor management. Forty per cent of patients claimed to have had psychological problems related to the surgery.

Conclusions: Mid-term results of OPCAB are very satisfactory, but randomised trials are needed to see whether they are different from the results of conventional coronary artery bypass grafting.