Unmatched analysis Baseline patient characteristics are presented in Table 1. The overall mean age was 66.6 ± 8.5 years and 53 patients (15%) were female. Patients in the redo-OPCAB group were on average 2 years older (67.8 ± 8.1 vs 65.7 ± 8.6 years, P = 0.02) and had twice the amount of peripheral vascular disease (27% vs 16%, P = 0.02). The average number of diseased coronary vessels was lower in the redo-OPCAB (2.3 ± 0.8 vs 2.6 ± 0.6, P < 0.01) reflecting the number of bypass grafts performed (2.3 ± 0.8 vs 2.6 ± 0.6, P < 0.01). Completeness of revascularization was similar at 76% vs 73% redo-OPCAB vs redo-CABG respectively (P = 0.9). Postoperative outcomes are shown in Table 2. The incidence of the composite end-point was higher in the redo-CABG group (25% vs 16%, P = 0.06). In-hospital mortality was 2.8 times higher in the redo-CABG group (6 vs 2%, P = 0.09). The other variables of the composite included: postoperative AKI (16 vs 13%, P = 0.43), stroke (1 vs 1%, P = 0.78) and severe LCO needing IABP (10 vs 3%, P =0.01), all redo-CABG vs redo-OPCAB respectively. Peak of postoperative SCrea was 134.7 ± 85.1 µmol/l and 126.04 ± 62.3 µmol/l for the redo-CABG and redo-OPCAB respectively (P = 0.30). Reopening for bleeding was higher in redo-CABG group (3 vs 1%, P =0.19), while hospital stay was 0.6 days longer (8.8 ± 6.9 vs 8.2 ± 6.2 days, P = 0.07) in the same group. Table 1 Pre- and intraoperative characteristics Unmatched analysis Overall (n = 349) Redo-OPCAB (n = 143) Redo-CABG (n = 206) P-value Age (years) 66.6 (8.5) 67.8 (8.1) 65.7 (8.6) 0.02 Female gender (%) 53 (15) 21 (15) 32 (15.5) 0.82 BMI (kg/m2) 27.2 (4.2) 27.9 (4.4) 26.9 (4.7) 0.07 Reduced LVEF <50% 117 (33) 46 (32) 71 (34) 0.65 Diabetes (%) 78 (22) 31 (22) 47 (23) 0.80 Hypertension (%) 252 (72) 110 (77) 142 (69) 0.08 CKD (%) 6 (2) 2 (1) 4 (2) 0.70 Preoperative creatinine (µmol/l) 103.1 (29) 101.8 (26.3) 103.9 (30.8) 0.52 eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) 64.4 (16.8) 64.7 (16.4) 64.2 (17.1) 0.76 Previous CVA (%) 40 (11) 18 (13) 22 (11) 0.56 PVD (%) 72 (21) 38 (27) 34 (16) 0.02 COPD (%) 53 (15) 25 (17) 28 (14) 0.31 Smoking history (%) 266 (76) 110 (77) 156 (76) 0.76 EuroSCORE 7 (2.7) 6.9 (2.5) 7.2 (2.8) 0.49 NYHA Class 3 or 4 (%) 149 (43) 53 (37) 96 (47) 0.10 CCS Class 3 or 4 (%) 228 (65) 89 (62) 139 (67) 0.37 Urgent surgery (%) 138 (39) 57 (40) 81 (39) 0.91 Previous surgical procedure (%) 0.03  CABG 273 (78) 100 (71) 173 (83)  Valve 43 (12) 23 (16) 20 (10)  CABG + valve ± other 33 (9) 18 (13) 15 (7) Number of diseased vessels 2.4 (0.7) 2.3 (0.8) 2.6 (0.6) <0.01 Use of nitrates (%) 53 (15) 19 (13) 34 (16) 0.41 Number of grafts 2.5 (0.7) 2.3 (0.8) 2.6 (0.6) <0.01 Use of IMA (%) 175 (50) 81 (57) 94 (46) 0.06 Use of radial artery (%) 67 (19) 32 (22) 35 (17) 0.26 Data are reported as mean and SD for continuous variables and as total count and percentages for categorical variables. BMI: body mass index; LVEF: left ventricular ejection fraction; CKD: chronic kidney disease; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; CVA: cerebrovascular accident; PVD: peripheral vascular disease; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; NYHA: New York Heart Association; CCS: Canadian Cardiovasular Society; CABG: coronary artery bypass grafting; CAD: coronary artery disease; IMA: internal mammary artery. Table 2 Operative outcomes in the unmatched population Unmatched analysis Overall (n = 349) Redo-OPCAB (n = 143) Redo-CABG (n = 206) P-value In-hospital mortality (%) 15 (4) 3 (2) 12 (6) 0.09 AKI (%) 50 (14) 18 (13) 32 (16) 0.43 CVA (%) 3 (1) 1 (1) 2 (1) 0.78 Use of IABP (%) 25 (7) 4 (3) 21 (10) 0.01 Composite outcome (%) 73 (21) 23 (16) 50 (25) 0.06 Reoperation for bleeding (%) 8 (2) 1 (1) 7 (3) 0.19 Completeness of revascularization (%) 257 (74) 108 (76) 149 (73) 0.92 Hospital stay (days) 8.6 (6.6) 8.2 (6.2) 8.8 (6.9) 0.07 Data are reported as mean and SD for continuous variables and as total count and percentages for categorical variables. AKI: acute kidney injury (defined as peak of postoperative creatinine >% higher than preoperative value); CVA: cerebrovascular accident; IABP: intra-aortic balloon pump (either intraoperative or postoperative). The mean follow-up time was 8.88 ± 5.1 years for the entire population. Figure 2 shows the Kaplan–Meier survival curves for the 2 unmatched groups. The long-term survival was similar between groups (log-rank test: P = 0.78). Late survival at 1-, 5- and 10-year was similar between groups at 95 vs 91.3%, 86.7 vs 83.5%, and 67.2 vs 68.4% for redo-OPCAB vs redo-CABG respectively. A multivariate logistic regression model indicated body mass index [odds ratio (OR_ 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86–0.99, P = 0.04) and EuroSCORE (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.06–1.31, P = 0.01) as independent predictors of the composite outcome. Figure 2 Kaplan–Meier survival curves for redo-OPCAB and redo-CABG for the entire cohort.