Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with transplanted livers

Coronary artery bypass grafting was performed on 3 patients for refractory angina pectoris 48, 5, and 40 months after orthotopic liver transplantation. At the time of the cardiac operation, all 3 patients had drug-induced moderate renal dysfunction, and 1 of the 3 exhibited mild chronic rejection of the graft. Maintenance immunosuppressive therapy was continued during the cardiac operation and the perioperative period. Stress-dose steroids and standard prophylactic antibiotics were also employed. All 3 patients tolerated the cardiac surgical procedure without hepatic decompensation, excessive bleeding, infection, impaired wound healing, and other complications related to the transplanted organ or to the immunosuppressive therapy. Early postoperative liver function test results showed mild transient deterioration. One patient experienced a brief psychotic episode and massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Both complications were attributed to the steroids used in immunosuppressive therapy. Follow-up ranging from 2 to 24 months after coronary artery bypass grafting revealed that the patients were active and had no cardiac symptoms or manifestations of hepatic decompensation. It appears from this limited experience that cardiac operations can be performed safely in patients who have previously undergone liver transplantation.