title: Improved survival with radial artery versus vein conduits in coronary bypass surgery with left internal thoracic artery to left anterior descending artery grafting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Given its proven survival benefit, left internal thoracic artery to left anterior descending (LITA-LAD) grafting has become a fundamental part of CABG. This grafting also led to increased use of other arterial conduits, of which the radial artery is most popular. Whether radial grafting improves survival beyond that achieved by LITA-LAD alone is not known.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We compared 6-year outcomes in propensity-matched CABG-LITA-LAD patients (925 each) divided into those with > or =1 radial grafts and those with vein-only grafting. Matched patients had essentially identical demographics, comorbidities, coronary disease, and operative data. Perioperative outcomes, including death (radial, 11 [1.2%]; vein, 10 [1.1%]), were similar for the 2 groups. Cumulative 0- to 6-year survival was better for radial patients (risk ratio, 0.675), particularly after 3 years (P<0.03). Six-year survival in vein (86.8%) and radial (92.1%) patients indicated 67% greater overall vein mortality. Incidence rates of radial and vein repeated catheterization (190 of 925 [20.5%] versus 199 of 925 [21.5%]) and revascularization (8.8% versus 8.5%) were similar. Angiography data in restudied symptomatic patients showed a trend for greater radial patency. Vein failure (66 of 161 [41%]) was significantly worse than radial failure (46 of 157 [29.3%]) in patients receiving both types of grafts (P=0.039).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using radial as a second arterial conduit in CABG-LITA-LAD as opposed to vein grafting improves long-term outcomes as a result of decreased late deaths, especially after the third postoperative year.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, St Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, Ohio 43608, USA.
authors.forename: Anoar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zacharias
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Habib
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Schwann
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Riordan
authors.forename: Samuel J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: Aamir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006083:Graft Occlusion, Vascular / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000637:transplantation*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014680:Veins / Q000637:transplantation