Internal mammary artery: the primary conduit for surgical revascularization

Internal mammary artery, by far, is the gold standard and first conduit for surgical revascularization especially when it comes to bypassing a lesion in the left anterior descending coronary artery. Several factors behind using this artery have been established, including but not limited to, the anatomical location, the course and flow, the elastic nature of the artery as well as the physiological characteristics that make this conduit to yield excellent long-term patency rates. This review aims to thoroughly examine current literature and establish the facts behind using this conduit in our daily surgical revascularization practice.