Evolution of Surgical Treatment of Coronary Artery Occlusive Disease

A 42-year-old man had extensive occlusive disease of the coronary artery and angina pectoris. An autogenous saphenous vein bypass from the ascending aorta to the anterior descending coronary artery was performed on Nov 23, 1964. The patient suffered an asymptomatic anterior myocardial infarction during operation but made an uncomplicated recovery. Seven years after the operation, the graft functions with normal left ventricular hemodynamics, while the occlusive process has produced obstruction of the left main coronary artery and almost complete occlusion of the right coronary artery. To our knowledge, this is the first successful case of a saphenous vein-coronary artery bypass with the longest follow-up of a functioning coronary vein bypass graft.