There are a lot of posts on social media by surgeons who perform minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery. I applaud them for always trying to advance the science, and I would never say anything negative about their efforts.

However, it must still be recognized that conventional multivessel arterial coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) can be performed with outstanding results, including virtually no pain, and with early discharge to home, in as few as three days.

Not all surgeons can achieve these results with conventional techniques, just as not all surgeons can achieve excellent results with minimally invasive techniques. The most important thing is that the surgeon uses what works best in his/her hands.

Over the past 32 years, I’ve permed over 2100 CABG procedures with a 1.0 % mortality when emergency cases are included, and 0.04% mortality for elective CABG surgery cases.