Use of the radial artery for myocardial revascularization.
BACKGROUND
The radial artery was first used as a coronary graft by Carpentier and associates in 1973 but, due to the disappointing results, it was abandoned. In 1992 its revival coincided with the widespread use of calcium-channel blockers in cardiovascular surgery, in the belief they could prevent spasm.


METHODS
From January 1993 to October 1995 we operated on 109 patients for myocardial revascularization employing the radial artery with two different surgical techniques: in 95 patients (group 1) it was "pretreated" by opening its fascia after a gentle hydrostatic dilation and then anastomosed to the aorta; in 14 patients (group 2) it was branched to another conduit. We had two operative deaths (1.82%).


RESULTS
At a mean interval of 532.42 days 105 patients are still alive, 2 (1.86%) having died of abdominal tumors. Fifty-six patients (52.33%) underwent angiography at a mean interval of 334.42 days: the patency of the radial artery was 88.88% in group 1 and 62.50% in group 2. Indications and contraindications are discussed.


CONCLUSIONS
The radial artery is an easily manageable conduit whose early patency is very promising, although a longer follow-up is mandatory.
Manasse
E
E
Cardiac Surgery Department, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Sperti
G
G
Suma
H
H
Canosa
C
C
Kol
A
A
Martinelli
L
L
Schiavello
R
R
Crea
F
F
Maseri
A
A
Possati
G F
GF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000637:transplantation*; D014654:Vascular Patency