title: Endoscopic radial artery harvesting: patient satisfaction and complications.
abstract: Endoscopic radial artery harvesting was recently introduced to reduce the morbidity associated with conventional open harvesting and improve cosmetic outcomes. From January 2004 through December 2006, 25 radial arteries were harvested endoscopically from 25 patients using the VasoView endoscopic system. Bilateral radial arteries were harvested from 6 patients by both the endoscopic and open techniques, and postoperative patient satisfaction was assessed using a visual analogue scale. Mean harvesting time was 61.9 +/- 16.0 min (range, 44-105 min), and mean harvested conduit length was 16.8 +/- 2.0 cm (range, 15-19 cm). Objective dorsal thenar numbness remained in 2 patients (8%); none complained of forearm numbness. All patients expressed marked satisfaction with the endoscopic technique and the small incision. Patient satisfaction was significantly higher with the endoscopic technique than with the open technique (visual analogue scale of 9 vs 5). Postoperative angiography revealed occlusion of a graft that had been anastomosed to a small diagonal branch. The overall graft patency was 96.6%. Endoscopic radial artery harvesting can be performed safely with infrequent complications. This method results in excellent patient satisfaction, particularly regarding the cosmetic outcome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiac Surgery, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan. snishida@k6.dion.ne.jp
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Yujiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Munehisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawachi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D011859:Radiography; D013997:Time Factors; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014654:Vascular Patency