Long-term patency of saphenous vein and left internal mammary artery grafts after coronary artery bypass surgery: results from a Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study.

Objectives: This study defined long-term patency of saphenous vein grafts (SVG) and internal mammary artery (IMA) grafts.

Background: This VA Cooperative Studies Trial defined 10-year SVG patency in 1,074 patients and left IMA patency in 457 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Methods: Patients underwent cardiac catheterizations at 1 week and 1, 3, 6, and 10 years after CABG.

Comparison of postoperative comlications between saphenous vein and IMA grafts to left anterior descending coronary artery.

Considerable controversy exists regarding relative morbidity associated with the saphenous vein graft (SVG) and internal mammary artery (IMA) graft in patients undergoing myocardial revascularization. As a part of the cooperative study on use of antiplatelet drugs for graft patency, operative and postoperative data were prospectively collected on 1,150 patients who underwent either SVG (n = 656) or IMA anastomosis (n = 494) to the left anterior descending coronary artery. There were no differences in baseline characteristics of patients, distribution of randomization among treatment groups, and total number of distal anastomoses performed between the two groups.