The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 52, 567-568, Copyright © 1991 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Preoperative duplex scan assessment of the inferior epigastric artery as a coronary bypass conduit
E Milgalter, H Laks, A Elami, H Louie, L Permut and JD Baker
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles.
The inferior epigastric arteries are currently being evaluated as
alternative autologous arterial conduits for coronary artery bypass
operations. The inferior epigastric arteries are variable in diameter and
length and require harvesting through separate abdominal incisions. There
is a need, therefore, for a method to preoperatively assess the diameter
and length of the inferior epigastric arteries to determine their
suitability as a coronary artery bypass graft. We have found that the
duplex scan is a valuable noninvasive preoperative imaging modality to
evaluate the inferior epigastric arteries.