Does harvesting of radial artery in the early postoperative period perturb the palmar blood supply and functions?
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this prospective study was to assess whether the removal of the radial artery (RA) caused any alteration in the function or power of hand on postoperative 15th day.


METHODS
The study group included 25 patients with objective or subjective complaints on postoperative 15th day regarding harvest site following coronary bypass surgery by using RA. Patients were examined for bilateral forearm function (soft touch and pin-prick neural sensation, handgrip power). The ulnar artery and palmar arcus Doppler measurements such as peak systolic and end-diastolic velocity, and radius of the arteries have been measured both at rest and following handgrip test. The operated arm was evaluated and compared with the opposite arm. Wilcoxon test was used to compare continuous variables.


RESULTS
Among 18 patients complained a loss of sense in the RA excised arm, the sensory defects were documented in 5. Among 7 patients presented with a feel of strength loss, handgrip power revealed a nonsignificant decrease of strength in the harvested arm. After squeezing test, ipsilateral ulnar artery peak systolic velocity increased from 86+/- 15 to 105+/- 15 cm/sec (<0.001), end-diastolic flow velocity from 28+/- 5 to 36+/- 8 cm/sec (<0.001) without any change in the ulnar artery radius. In contrast, no significant change in the flow velocity and the diameter of palmar arcus was noted before and after squeezing test. The comparison of the ulnar artery radius and blood flow velocity parameters in the RA excised arm to those of contralateral one after exercise test demonstrated no difference.


CONCLUSIONS
With an assumption of appropriate selection, removal of RA does not change the forearm blood supply and functions with little sensory disturbances in the early postoperative period.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Medical Faculty, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey. nkucukarslan@gata.edu.tr
Nezihi
N
Küçükarslan
Ata
A
Kirilmaz
Mehmet Ali
MA
Sahin
Adem
A
Güler
Kubilay
K
Karabacak
Ertuğrul
E
Ozal
Yavuz
Y
Sanisoğlu
Harun
H
Tatar
D000368:Aged; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008663:Metacarpus / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000601:surgery* / Q000637:transplantation; D014110:Touch; D017535:Ulnar Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler