Ann Thorac Surg 1996;62:1082-1083
© 1996 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Discussion
Discussion
| The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below. |
See also page 1076.
DR CHARLES A. DIETL (Danville, PA):
Since November 1992, my colleagues and I have used the radial artery graft for coronary revascularization in 245 patients. We used the radial artery as a single graft, as a sequential graft, or as a Y graft, and we followed up these patients for a mean of 18.5 months (range, 1 to 3 years). So far, we have not had to reoperate on any of these patients. Only 10 patients have been restudied, and their coronary angiograms showed widely patent radial artery grafts in all of them. There were no angiographic abnormalities in any of the radial artery grafts.
In our opinion, the radial artery is a very dependable conduit. As pointed out by Dr Manasse and his colleagues, a delicate "no-touch" harvesting technique and the routine use of calcium-channel blockers minimize the risk of spasm or graft failure. However, the technique used for the proximal anastomosis is also a very important consideration, which may affect graft patency rates. For example, we do not recommend using the "aortic punch," because excision of the aortic wall may cause too much tension and may flatten the anastomosis. We prefer to use a long incision (15 mm or more) either in the aorta or in the internal thoracic artery for the proximal anastomosis, for easier handling of the graft, and to minimize kinking of the anastomosis. Another word of caution when using the radial artery graft is that the arm incision should . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Related Article
-
Use of the Radial Artery for Myocardial Revascularization
- Eric Manasse, Giovanni Sperti, Hisayoshi Suma, Carlo Canosa, Amir Kol, Lorenzo Martinelli, Rocco Schiavello, Filippo Crea, Attilio Maseri, and Gian Federico Possati
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 1996 62: 1076-1082.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
Copyright © 1996 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
