The first surgical procedure for the treatment of coronary artery disease, in 1933, was total thyroidectomy. Some years later, procedures to increase heart irrigation such as pectoral or great epiplon grafting and cardiopeumopexy were attempted. In 1940, the ligation of great cardiac vein or coronary sinus were introduced. Five years later, pericoronary neurectomy was used. In 1945, Beck used an arteriovenous fistula between the descending aorta and the coronary sinus and, from 1954, he used the erosion of heart surface with asbestos application, complemented with the occlusion of the coronary sinus and the application of parietal pericardium. In 1958, Glover introduced the bilateral ligation of mammary arteries and Vineberg, developed the internal mammary artery implant, that consisted in the tunneling of the free portion of such artery in the myocardium. En 1956, Lillehei and Bailey introduced coronary endarterectomy and finally in 1967, Favaloro introduced systematically the aortocoronary bypass using safenous vein, that became the definitive surgical treatment for coronary artery disease. In Chile the first coronary surgery was done by Torwall and Uribe in 1950 and modern coronary surgery was initiated by Salvestrini in1970 (Rev Méd Chile 2001; 129: 201-08).