Methods: The clinical data of 2110 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between January 2007 and September 2009 in our clinic were retrospectively evaluated with regard to opening of pleura and development of tamponade. Sixty-six patients (3.1%) who required reoperation due to early postoperative bleeding and/or tamponade were identified.

Results: Similar rates of emergency revision (2.9% versus 3.2%, respectively; p=0.85) and tamponade (1.8% versus 1.3%, respectively; p=0.46) were observed among patients with opened pleura (n=46) and intact pleura (n=20). Among the subset of patients who required early reoperation for bleeding/tamponade, tamponade was present in 12 patients (60.0%) with intact pleura compared to 18 patients (39.1%) in whom pleura was opened (p=0.178). Development of tamponade was associated with an increased total drainage, increased time to reoperation, prolonged duration of intubation and increased use of inotropic agents.

Conclusion: Opening the pleura during CABG for internal mammary artery harvesting does not decrease the incidence of tamponade. Although larger studies are required, leaving the pleura intact may be the preferred option in most CABG patients.