• R E Anderson, T Q Li, T Hindmarsh, G Settergren, and J Vaage.
• Department of Cardiothoracic Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, Karolinska MR Research Center, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 1999 Dec 1; 13 (6): 698-702.

ObjectiveTo determine if coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) avoids the brain swelling known to occur after CPB, to quantify these brain water compartment changes, and to identify the water shifts as due to intracellular or extracellular water.DesignProspective, controlled, and blinded.SettingCardiac surgical unit in a university teaching hospital.SubjectsPatients scheduled for CABG who were assigned to conventional (n = 10) or off-pump (n = 7) surgery according to their coronary anatomy.InterventionsMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations were performed 1 day before surgery and 1 hour and 1 week after CABG surgery.Main Outcome MeasuresExtracellular and intracellular water homeostasis was described quantitatively by calculating the averaged apparent diffusion coefficient of brain water using diffusion-weighted MRI. Blinded visual ordering of the images from the three examinations was performed according to brain size using conventional MRI.ResultsThe average diffusion coefficient of brain water increased 4.7%+/-1.5% immediately after CABG with CPB and normalized after 1 week but did not change after CABG without CPB. No focal ischemic changes were seen in either group, and no gross neurologic deficits were observed. Visual analysis showed consistent brain swelling after CPB and variable changes in those operated without CPB.ConclusionChanges consistent with increased extracellular brain water seen after CABG with CPB were not observed in patients undergoing CABG without CPB. The clinical significance of brain water changes and increased brain water content after surgery with CPB remains undefined.

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