Hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR) or hybrid coronary bypass is a relatively new type of heart surgery that provides an alternative to traditional coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI or PTCA) by combining the two into one operation. It is this combining aspect that "hybrid" refers to. HCR is one of several types of hybrid cardiac surgery; it is not to be confused with a MIDCAB (minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass) procedure, which uses the smaller thoracotomy incision but does not involve coronary stenting.

Benefits

Hybrid bypass offers all the benefits of a MIDCAB, although there are some disadvantages. A 2018 Meta Analysis with over 4000 patient cases found HCR to have significant advantages compared with conventional CABG. Reduced incidence of Blood Transfusion, reduced hospital stay duration and reduced intubation duration were all reported. In contrast, HCR was found to be significantly more expensive compared to CABG. However, 2018 guidelines recommend (Level 2B recommendation) that hybrid coronary revascularization may be considered in specific patient subsets at experienced centres.