Pathology of Saphenous Vein Grafts

Saami K Yazdani; Fumiyuki Otsuka; Masataka Nakano; Elena Ladich; Renu Virmani

doi:10.1016/j.iccl.2012.11.002

Pathology of Saphenous Vein Grafts

Interv Cardiol Clin. 2013 Apr;2(2):241-249. doi: 10.1016/j.iccl.2012.11.002. Epub 2013 Jan 23.

Authors

Saami K Yazdani¹, Fumiyuki Otsuka¹, Masataka Nakano¹, Elena Ladich¹, Renu Virmani²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiovascular Pathology, CVPath Institute, Inc. 19 Firstfield Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA.
² Department of Cardiovascular Pathology, CVPath Institute, Inc. 19 Firstfield Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878, USA. Electronic address: rvirmani@cvpath.org.

PMID: 28582132
DOI: 10.1016/j.iccl.2012.11.002

Abstract

Saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) are the most used conduits in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery; however, they are susceptible to accelerated atherosclerosis. Clinical studies have shown 10-year patency rates of SVG can be as low as 50% to 60%. This article highlights changes that are observed following CABG surgery using SVG, including intimal thickening to the development of atherosclerotic changes, and how these changes in vein graft are different from those observed in native atherosclerosis. It also discusses the role of risk factors that contribute to acceleration of SVG atherosclerosis.

Keywords: Anastomosis; Coronary artery bypass graft; Pathology; Saphenous vein grafts.

Publication types

Review