BACKGROUND: Compared to men, increased perioperative morbidity and mortality have been implicated in female patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. We aimed to determine gender-related differences in outcomes of patients undergoing bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting.
METHODS: The data of 878 consecutive patients undergoing left-sided BITA grafting (2006-2011) were reviewed. Patients were categorized by gender. Technical aspects and early outcomes were analyzed.
RESULTS: Female gender comprised 12.5% of patients (110 vs 768). Compared to men, women were older (62.2 versus 59.8 years; p<0.05) and had smaller body surface area (1.74+/-0.18 m2 versus 1.92+/-0.19 m2; p<0.05). Whereas overall 30-day mortality was 1.1%, a trend towards higher indices in female patients did not reach statistical significance (1% versus 3%, p=0.06). There were no gender-effects on the incidence of cerebrovascular accident (0.65% versus 0.91%, p=0.38). Occurrence of deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) was significantly higher in female patients (2% vs 5% p<0.05). Subgroup analysis demonstrated higher incidence of DSWI in female subsets with body mass index of 30 kg/ m2 or more.
CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of the strategy, BITA grafting is not associated with increased risk of early mortality or neurological events in female patients. However, comparative higher incidence of DSWI warrants refinements in selection criteria of female patients.
