From April 1980 to January 1990, among 2,576 percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures, 100 patients (82 men and 18 women; mean age, 54 +/- 10 years [3.9%]) underwent emergency coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Before PTCA 56 had unstable angina, 34 had prior myocardial infarction, and 60 had single-vessel coronary artery disease. The mean time period from the onset of ischemia to surgical reperfusion was 147 +/- 16 minutes; 155 grafts were placed (1.5 grafts per patient). In-hospital mortality was 19%; operative mortality was significantly related to older age (59 +/- 9 versus 53 +/- 10 years, p less than 0.05), presence of unstable angina (74% versus 53%, p less than 0.05), and development of cardiogenic shock or necessity of cardiac massage before surgery (53% versus 16%, p less than 0.0001). In addition, 57 patients developed a Q wave myocardial infarction. For hospital survivors, overall survival at 7 years was 94% (Kaplan-Meier method), with three cardiac deaths during follow-up; two additional patients had late myocardial infarction, and four had late PTCA. At a mean follow-up of 55 +/- 38 months, 78% of the patients had no chest pain, and 80% reported no dyspnea. All patients received antiplatelet agents or oral anticoagulants; 34% had no antianginal medications. Among the 40 previously employed patients, 73% resumed work after surgery. All patients with cardiogenic shock or cardiac massage who survived the initial hospital period were alive at follow-up. After an initial critical period, the long-term clinical outcome of patients with emergency coronary bypass surgery after failed PTCA is satisfactory.