Methods: Between September 2001 and June 2009, 621 patients who were more than 70 years of age (453 males, 168 females; mean age 73.6±2.9 years; range 70 to 89 years) who underwent isolated cardiopulmonary CABG were analyzed retrospectively. Of these patients, 604 (97.3%) were followed up postoperatively. The mean duration of the follow-up was 2.5±1.4 years (range 0.3-6.9 years) with a total of 1532.5 patient/years.

Results: The mean number of distal anastomoses and grafts per patient was 3.0±0.7 (range 2-5) and 2.8±1.1 (range 2-5), respectively. The 30-day mortality rate was 2.7% (n=17). Of the surviving 604 patients, 30 (4.8%) died during the follow-up period. The mean survival of these patients was 3.1±1.9 years (range 0.8-6.7 years). The preoperative advanced NYHA functional class and postoperative renal complications were associated with increased late mortality while comorbid preoperative diabetes and the use of the left internal thoracic artery graft were associated with lower mortality.

Conclusion: Our study results suggest that patients who were more than 70 years old may benefit from CABG surgery. We found that early mortality is related to patientspecific factors, while mid-term mortality is associated with renal complications and preoperative advanced NYHA functional class. Diabetic patients who were administered left internal thoracic artery grafts benefit the most from CABG surgery during the mid-term follow-up.