The Practice of Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Few advances in cardiovascular medicine have so captured the inter- est of physicians and the public alike as has coronary artery bypass surgery. Cardiologists who lived through the era of false hopes and frustrations of previous" operations" for coronary artery disease can fully appreciate what this major advance offers to their patients. The number of papers on this topic presented at national meetings attest to its popularity, but also make it increasingly difficult for anyone to assimilate all the data. Practitioners who must consider coronary artery bypass surgery for their patients may thus have difficulty in coming to some rational decision regarding the indications for the operation and its consequences. Depending on the "authority" that one reads, there is still some controversy as to which patients are candidates for coronary artery surgery. This monograph on the prac- tice of coronary artery bypass surgery, therefore, comes as a welcome boon to cardiologists, surgeons, internists, and general practitioners who must consider referring their patients for such surgery. It presents a balanced and reasonable picture of the overall subject, in addition to containing important information on such topics as opera- tive technique and economic impact. Dr. Miller has done an outstand- ing job in bringing together in one text the important considerations related to the evaluation of patients, the natural history of coronary artery disease and the benefits and problems associated with bypass surgery.