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Case Reports

Massive Alterations of the Left Internal Thoracic Artery Late After Repair for Aortic Coarctation

Department for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Essen, Essen, Germany

Accepted for publication July 9, 2008.

^_* Address correspondence to Dr Osswald, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, Essen, 45147, Germany (Email: brigitte.osswald{at}uk-essen.de).

Adhesions or unattended injury are known but are seldom reasons to prevent withdrawing the use of the left internal thoracic artery during coronary artery bypass grafting. The patient in this case report was a 68-year-old man, who had undergone repair for aortic coarctation 34 years prior to coronary artery bypass grafting. After left internal thoracic artery harvesting, a no-flow situation of the graft was present. Transection of the graft revealed massive atherosclerotic alterations. To avoid unnecessary left internal thoracic artery harvesting, preoperative imaging in terms of a left internal thoracic artery angiography during coronary angiography is mandatory. The fact of finding massive alterations decades after pressure reduction indicates that relief from shear stress is not necessarily combined with remodeling of vascular alterations.