Saphenous Vein vs Arterial Graft to the Right System in Left-Sided Arterial Revascularization.

Background: To investigate clinical outcomes of various arterial grafts (AGs) vs saphenous vein grafts (VGs) to the right coronary system in patients who received left-sided bilateral internal thoracic artery revascularization.

Methods: We compared short- and long-term outcomes of all the patients operated in our center during 1996-2011, who received left-sided bilateral internal thoracic artery (left anterior descending and left circumflex) grafting and either a VG or an AG to the right coronary system.

Results: Of 1691 patients, 983 received a VG and 708 received an AG to the right coronary system: 387 gastroepiploic arteries and 321 internal thoracic artery grafts.

Early and late outcomes of single versus bilateral internal thoracic artery revascularization for patients in critical condition.

Objective: The optimal surgical approach for critically ill patients with complex coronary disease remains uncertain. We compared outcomes of bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) versus single ITA (SITA) revascularization in critical patients.

Methods: We evaluated 394 consecutive critical patients with multi-vessel disease who underwent CABG during 1996-2001.

Late Outcomes of In Situ Versus Composite Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Revascularization.

Background: We compared 2 configurations for revascularization of the internal thoracic arteries to the anterior and lateral walls. In the "in situ" configuration, an in situ right internal thoracic artery supplies the left anterior descending territory, and an in situ left internal thoracic artery is grafted to the left circumflex territory. In the "composite" configuration, an in situ left internal thoracic artery is grafted to the left anterior descending artery and a free right internal thoracic artery is attached end-to-side to the left internal thoracic artery and supplies the lateral wall.

Are two internal thoracic grafts better than one in patients with peripheral vascular disease?

Background: The use of two bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting (BITA) was shown to lead to survival benefit. However, operators are reluctant to use BITA with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) because of concerns of increased rates of sternal wound infection and lack of studies supporting survival benefit compared with single internal thoracic artery (SITA) grafting. The aim of this study is to compare outcome BITA grafting versus of SITA and vein grafts in PVD patients.

Comparison of radial and bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting in patients with peripheral vascular disease†.

Objectives: The composite T-graft with radial artery (RA) attached end-to-side to the left internal thoracic artery (ITA) provides arterial myocardial revascularization without the increased risk of deep sternal wound infection associated with harvesting 2 ITAs. However, many surgeons are reluctant to use RA in patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) due to concerns regarding the quality of the conduit in this subset of patients. The purpose of this study is to compare early- and long-term outcomes of arterial grafting with bilateral ITAs (BITA) to that of single ITA and RA in patients with PVD.