Value of saphenous vein graft markers during subsequent diagnostic cardiac catheterization.

Background: Although saphenous vein graft (SVG) markers have been available for many years, they have not been widely used in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This is likely due to the paucity of data regarding the utility of these markers in postsurgery cardiac catheterization.

Methods: We performed a prospective study of all post-CABG patients undergoing cardiac catheterization at Barnes-Jewish Hospital over a 6-month period to test our hypothesis that SVG markers would have a beneficial effect on these procedures.