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Routine use of unilateral and bilateral radial arteries for coronary artery bypass graft surgery
R F Brodman1, R Frame, M Camacho
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10467, USA.
Objectives:
This study sought to evaluate the routine use of radial artery (RA) grafts in patients undergoing coronary artery revascularization.
Background:
Previous long-term studies have documented poor patency of saphenous vein grafts compared with internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts.
Methods:
We performed a prospective review of 175 of 249 consecutive patients.
Results:
Fifty-four patients had bilateral RAs harvested. Mean number (+/- SD) of grafts/patient was 3.27 +/- 0.93, with 2.76 +/- 0.97 arterial grafts; a mean of 1.53 +/- 0.68 grafts were performed with the RA. The operative mortality rate was 1.6%. No deaths were related to RA grafts, and there were no RA harvest site hematomas or infections. Transient dysesthesia 1 day to 4 weeks in duration occurred in the distribution of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve in six extremities (2.6%). Elective cardiac catheterization in 60 patients at 12 weeks postoperatively demonstrated a 95.7% patency rate.
Conclusions:
Because of potential benefit of long-term patency associated with arterial grafts, minimal morbidity and mortality associated with use of the RA and excellent short-term patency rates, we cautiously recommend use of one or both RAs as additional conduits to be used concomitantly with the ITA for arterial revascularization of the coronary arteries.