title: Non-invasive evaluation of right gastroepiploic artery with colour Doppler echography.
abstract: The right gastroepiploic artery has been increasingly used as a coronary bypass graft. Short- and mid-term patency rates support the supposition that the right gastroepiploic artery is a satisfactory bypass conduit. However, conclusive angiographic data on long-term patency rates are still lacking. An echo-colour Doppler method was used to detect patency of the right gastroepiploic artery grafts through an upper abdominal approach. A group of 24 patients with a right gastroepiploic artery graft to the right or posterior descending coronary artery, all of whom also had a postoperative angiographic study which showed 100% patency of the graft were used as a reference group. A second group of 89 patients was also investigated only with echo-colour Doppler during the postoperative period (mean 8.0 (range 1-48) months). A patent right gastroepiploic artery graft showed a biphasic velocity pattern. Systolic peak velocity ranged from 8 to 26 cm and diastolic peak velocity from 4 to 13 cm. The right gastroepiploic artery diameter ranged from 1.7 to 2.4 mm and flow from 10.2 to 58.8 ml. Among the second group were three patients who had, at their echo-colour Doppler examination, a possible occlusion of the right gastroepiploic artery graft; an angiographic study was conducted and the graft closure confirmed in all cases. Serial echo-colour Doppler evaluation of the right gastroepiploic artery blood flow pattern and diameter is a non-invasive and safe method to check the patency and flow capacity of the artery graft in follow-up studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agrifoglio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Matteo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parolari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naliato
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antona
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alamanni
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biglioli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001158:Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000637:transplantation*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D005260:Female; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*