title: The radial artery in coronary surgery: a 5-year experience--clinical and angiographic results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The radial artery (RA) has been used extensively by us as a way of reducing the use of the saphenous vein. It has been hoped that the RA will maintain greater late patency than the saphenous vein. We evaluated our initial 5-year experience with the RA in coronary surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 6,646 consecutive patients who had a single RA (4,872), or bilateral RA (1,774), as coronary grafts, from June 1995 to June 2000. Angiograms were performed mostly in symptomatic patients, or as part of a research project in asymptomatic patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients' mean age was 65.1 years; 23% had diabetes, 14% had unstable angina, and 42% had prior myocardial infarction. An average of 3.3 grafts per patient were performed, 87% from arterial conduit. Conduits used were RA (8,420), left internal thoracic artery (6,296), and right internal thoracic artery (1,076). Operative mortality occurred in 58 (0.9%) patients, stroke in 92 (1.4%), deep sternal infection in 97 (1.4%), reoperation for hemorrhage in 56 (0.9%), and myocardial infarction in 52 (0.8%). Peak mean postoperative creatine kinase MB (CKMB) was 16.5 IU/L. Two patients developed fingertip ischemia. Postoperative angiographic RA patency was 90.2% (333 of 369 distal anastomoses).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Good early clinical and angiographic results can be achieved by using the RA in coronary surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Melbourne and Epworth Hospitals, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. james.tatoulis@mh.org.au
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tatoulis
authors.forename: Alistair G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Royse
authors.forename: Brian F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Buxton
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Skillington
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Goldblatt
authors.forename: Robin P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rowland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000637:transplantation*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome