Radial Artery Harvest Using the Sharp Scissors Method for Patients with Pathological Findings on Allen's Test

Abstract

The pathological findings on Allen's test tend to be contraindicative for radial artery (RA) harvest. However, the employment of a meticulous harvest technique might help protect the collateral vessels from the interosseous arteries and thus help to maintain forearm circulation. We herein report successful RA harvest using the sharp scissors method in patients with pathological findings on Allen's test. Ten patients with pathological findings on Allen's test underwent RA harvest using only sharp scissors and metal clips. The distal end of the RA was left approximately 5 cm from the wrist. Using forearm thermography, the skin temperature of the harvest site was compared with that of the non-harvest site. All patients underwent postoperative forearm angiography one month after surgery. No ischemic events in the forearm or harvest site complications were observed. Thermography showed no difference in the skin temperatures between the harvest and non-harvest sites in all patients. Moreover, forearm angiography 1 month postoperatively showed that the interosseous arteries to be well developed and connected to the distal end of the RA in all patients. These results suggest that a meticulous RA harvest using sharp scissors and clips can help to protect from collateral perfusion of the interosseous arteries. Using this method, RA harvest is therefore considered to be acceptable even for patients with pathological findings on Allen's test.