Does the Addition of a Gastroepiploic Artery to Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Improve Survival?

It is unclear whether the additional conduit to supplement bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITA) influences the patient outcome in coronary surgery. This retrospective study compared long-term survival of patients undergoing left-sided BITA grafting in which the third conduit to the right coronary system (RCA) was either vein graft (SVG) or gastroepiploic artery (GEA). From 1989 to 2014, 1432 consecutive patients underwent left-sided revascularization with BITA associated with SVG (n = 599) or GEA (n = 833) to RCA.

How decisive is the number of distal arterial anastomoses in coronary bypass surgery?

Background: The benefit of arterial revascularization in coronary surgery remains controversial. The incremental value of additional grafts to the left internal thoracic artery (ITA) has been mainly assessed according to the number of arterial grafts, possibly limiting the detection of its actual impact. We analyzed the influence of the number of distal arterial anastomoses (DAA) performed on late mortality in patients having received from one to three arterial grafts.