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Initial clinical results of myocardial revascularization with the internal mammary artery for evolving myocardial
1Department of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Nijmegen St. Radboud, The Netherlands.
In 25 patients undergoing emergency revascularization for an evolving myocardial infarction, the internal mammary artery (IMA) was used as graft. To bridge the time needed for harvesting the IMA, the left ventricle was totally decompressed by means of the extracorporeal circulation. Cardioplegia was delivered retrogradely, in order to achieve a good distribution in the jeopardized area. One patient died postoperatively, and eight patients showed a postoperative myocardial infarction. These initial results suggest that, with an adapted operative strategy, the IMA can be used as graft even in emergency revascularization.
In 25 patients undergoing emergency revascularization for an evolving myocardial infarction, the internal mammary artery (IMA) was used as graft. To bridge the time needed for harvesting the IMA, the left ventricle was totally decompressed by means of the extracorporeal circulation. Cardioplegia was delivered retrogradely, in order to achieve a good distribution in the jeopardized area. One patient died postoperatively, and eight patients showed a postoperative myocardial infarction. These initial results suggest that, with an adapted operative strategy, the IMA can be used as graft even in emergency revascularization.