Radial artery as graft for coronary artery bypass surgery: Advantages and disadvantages for its usage focused on structural and biological characteristics

Nikolaos G Baikoussis; Nikolaos A Papakonstantinou; Efstratios Apostolakis

doi:10.1016/j.jjcc.2013.11.016

Radial artery as graft for coronary artery bypass surgery: Advantages and disadvantages for its usage focused on structural and biological characteristics

J Cardiol. 2014 May;63(5):321-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jjcc.2013.11.016. Epub 2014 Feb 11.

Authors

Nikolaos G Baikoussis¹, Nikolaos A Papakonstantinou², Efstratios Apostolakis²

Affiliations

¹ Cardiac Surgery Department, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Paris, France. Electronic address: nikolaos.baikoussis@gmail.com.
² Department of Cardiac Surgery, Ioannina University Hospital, School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece.

PMID: 24525045
DOI: 10.1016/j.jjcc.2013.11.016

Abstract

Radial artery (RA) is the most popular arterial graft after the left internal thoracic artery in both low- and high-risk patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Various arterial grafts such as the right internal thoracic artery, the right gastroepiploic artery, and the inferior epigastric artery have also gained ground over the past 30 years because of the intimal hyperplasia and atherosclerosis of the saphenous vein leading to late graft occlusion. In this review article we would like to present the utility of the RA as a graft, focused mainly on its structural and biological characteristics.

Keywords: Arterial revascularization; Coronary artery bypass graft; Coronary artery disease; Radial artery.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Coronary Artery Bypass / methods*
Graft Occlusion, Vascular / prevention & control
Humans
Radial Artery / anatomy & histology
Radial Artery / transplantation*
Tissue and Organ Harvesting / adverse effects
Tissue and Organ Harvesting / methods*
Vascular Patency