The Vineberg legacy: internal mammary artery implantation from inception to obsolescence

At a time when cardiac surgery was still approached with hesitation, Arthur M. Vineberg developed the procedure of direct implantation of the internal mammary artery into the left ventricle for the relief of myocardial ischemia. The Vineberg operation, as it became known, had merit but never received broad endorsement from the medical and surgical communities. Its physiologic benefits were inconsistent and for years were documented by little more than anecdotal evidence, until coronary angiography (newly developed by Mason Sones) was able to demonstrate that the procedure did in fact increase perfusion in the diseased heart. This supporting evidence came rather late, for within the next decade direct aortocoronary artery bypass grafting overtook the Vineberg operation as a more efficient means of revascularizing the myocardium. Thousands of patients, however, had benefited from internal mammary artery implantation at a time when options were few; and the procedure was an aggressive move towards current (and similarly aggressive) treatments for myocardial ischemia. Moreover, the characteristics of the myocardium that Vineberg sought to exploit may form the basis for future therapy. A reappraisal of the implant is warranted, as today's physicians and surgeons inherit the last remaining recipients of Vineberg implants.