• T C Mathew, R Vasudevan, L Leb, S M Pezzella, and A T Pezzella.
• Department of Medicine, Saint Vincent Hospital and University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester 01604, USA.
• Ann. Thorac. Surg. 1997 Oct 1;64(4):1059-62.

BackgroundReports of patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura undergoing cardiac operations are scarce and no recommendations exist regarding their management. We report 3 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and severe coronary artery disease who underwent uncomplicated coronary bypass grafting.MethodsThe case history of each patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and the literature were reviewed.ResultsAll 3 patients underwent uncomplicated coronary artery bypass grafting after preoperative treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and intraoperative platelet transfusions if needed. Prophylactic splenectomy was not performed. There was no increased incidence of bleeding complications.ConclusionsCoronary artery bypass grafting can be safely performed in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura using conventional conduits after pretreating with immunoglobulin G and avoiding splenectomy.

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