title: Reliability of intraoperative flow measurements to determine early graft patency with simultaneous introduction of a new method for distal coronary artery run-off capacity.
abstract: Intraoperative measurements of blood flow were made in 44 patients in whom a total of 112 venous bypass grafts were inserted. Blood flow through the graft was measured by a standard electromagnetic device as well as by a new method, consisting of a roller pump run-off system. At an average of 5 months after operation all patients underwent control coronaro-angiography. Overall patency-rate was 86.6%. Using the standard method mean flow in the patent grafts was 78 ml/min and 39 ml/min in the occluded grafts. Using the new run-off method mean flow in the patent grafts was 142 ml/min and 78 ml/min in the occluded grafts. It is concluded that measuring distal coronary artery run-off capacity provides a reliable index for predicting patency rate. For several reasons roller-pump run-off measurement has advantages over the generally used electromagnetic measurements.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012212:Rheology; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000637:transplantation