Comparison of conventional and modified carbo-dissection techniques for LIMA harvesting in CABG

In coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the use of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) is considered the gold standard. The conventional technique of using electrocautery for LIMA harvesting is associated with adverse events. In this study, we used a different technique that combined carbon dioxide with electrocautery to harvest LIMA and compared it with the conventional electrocautery method. Forty-six patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomized into two groups (23 in each): conventional and carbo-dissection for prospective comparison. The data collected from the 46 subjects (23 in each group) were organized, tabulated, and interpreted on the basis of the objectives of the study using descriptive and inferential statistics via Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) package 19.0. The objective of this study was to compare conventional and carbo-dissection methods in terms of operative time and flow rate. The mean operative time in the carbo-dissection group was 15.48 ± 2.538 min and that in the conventional group was 15.78 ± 2.194 min. There was no statistically significant difference in the operative time between the two groups. The mean flow per minute in the carbo-dissection group was higher (58.61 ± 29.617 mL) than that in the conventional group (53.35 ± 25.669 mL), although it was not statistically significant. There was no significant statistical difference between the conventional and modified carbo-dissection techniques for harvesting LIMA in terms of flow rate per minute and operative time. On the basis of this, we can conclude that the modified carbo-dissection technique has similar outcomes to the conventional method of LIMA harvesting. The Trial Registry No. (clinicaltrials.gov) is NCT06155045.