Carbodissection of the internal thoracic artery pedicle

Carbodissection of the internal thoracic artery pedicle facilitates separation of the internal thoracic artery from the chest wall and permits rapid atraumatic exposure of its branches for precise clipping under direct vision, without the risks of thermal injury inherent in cautery dissection of the pedicle. Twenty-four internal thoracic arteries have been prepared for coronary artery bypass grafting using carbodissection, with no complications and an average operating time of 19.8 minutes.