Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Research Articles

Subcostal bilateral internal thoracic artery harvesting with the da Vinci Single Port system: an experimental feasibility study.

We evaluated the feasibility of harvesting bilateral internal thoracic arteries with the da Vinci Single Port system (SP)through a single left-sided subcostal incision. Complete bilateral mobilization with sufficiently long conduits for multivessel grafting was possible in 2 human cadavers and 2 live porcine. Creating the subcostal access and docking the SP system took between 14 and 21 min and the total harvest time ranged from 65 to 125 min in all models. No major bleeding was observed in the live porcine and hemostasis was managed with the available instrumentation. One porcine deceased during surgery due to ventricular fibrillation followed by cardiac arrest. The robotic harvesting was technically easily reproduced by the surgeons and required no additional rib-spreading. Further studies will be required to assess if this subcostal approach with the da Vinci SP system yields true clinical benefits in patients.

Long-term results following off-pump coronary-artery bypass grafting in left ventricular dysfunction.

Severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is an independent risk factor for early and long-term mortality after coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG). Off-pump CABG (OPCAB) significantly reduces the early incidence of major complications in high-risk patients. Moreover, bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting after CABG is associated with improved long-term outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the impact of multivessel OPCAB with BITA grafting for complete revascularization on postoperative and long-term outcomes in patients with low LV ejection fraction (EF). We included 121 patients with EF ≤ 30.0% who underwent isolated multivessel OPCAB (average LVEF, 24.8%) between April 2007 and December 2019. Sixty-six patients received BITA grafts, while 55 had single internal thoracic artery (SITA) grafts. We conducted multivariate analyses to examine the correlation between perioperative data and late mortality rate. The early mortality rate was 1.65%. After excluding in-hospital mortality cases, we performed long-term follow-up of 119 patients. Early postoperative echocardiography showed significant LVEF improvement in 89 (75.2%) patients. However, LVEF remained ≤ 30.0% in 30 (24.8%) patients. We recorded 15 and 30 cases of cardiac death and cardiac events, respectively, during the long-term follow-up period. Postoperative LVEF ≤ 30.0% (P < 0.01) and no use of BITA grafting (P = 0.03) were significant predictors of cardiac death and events; moreover, hemodialysis was a significant predictor of all-cause mortality rather than cardiac death. Multivessel OPCAB in patients with severe LV dysfunction was associated with acceptable in-hospital mortality and early postoperative improvement in LV function. Additionally, OPCAB with BITA grafting may provide long-term benefits with respect to cardiac death and events. However, the long-term benefits were significantly limited in patients without early postoperative improvement in LV function and patients with chronic hemodialysis.Clinical registration number: 5590 (14/5/2020 Tokyo Women's Medical University).

Visualization of the Internal Thoracic Arteries in Giant Cell Arteritis on 18 F-FDG Semiconductor PET/CT.

A 72-year-old woman presented with the fever and the pain of skull and face for 2 weeks. 18 F-FDG PET/CT equipped with semiconductor detectors revealed strong uptake not only in the temporal, cervical, subclavian arteries, and aorta, but also in the bilateral internal thoracic arteries. The diagnosis of giant cell arteritis was made. Semiconductor PET can visualize small arteries such as the internal thoracic artery. The patients with giant cell arteritis are at a high risk of ischemic heart disease, and inflammatory involvement of the internal thoracic arteries may affect the outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting.

Robot-Assisted MIDCAB Using Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery: A Propensity Score–Matched Study With OPCAB Patients

Objective: Robot-assisted minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (RA-MIDCAB) is an attractive strategy for coronary revascularization. Growing evidence supports the use of total arterial grafting in coronary surgery. We evaluated total arterial left-sided coronary revascularization with bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) using RA-MIDCAB and compared it with a propensity score–matched (PSM) off-pump CAB (OPCAB) surgery population. Methods: We retrospectively included all isolated OPCAB and RA-MIDCAB surgery using BITA without saphenous vein graft from January 1, 2015, to October 31, 2022. We analyzed all our RA-MIDCAB patients and performed PSM to compare them with our OPCAB population. Primary outcomes were major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) and mortality. Secondary outcomes were surgical parameters, length of hospital stay, and learning curve. Results: We included 601 OPCAB and 77 RA-MIDCAB procedures, which resulted in 2 cohorts of 54 patients after PSM. Mortality and MACCE survival analysis showed no significant difference. There was less blood transfusion in the RA-MIDCAB (16.7%) compared with the OPCAB group (38.9%; P = 0.02). We observed fewer intensive care unit (ICU) admissions (24.1% vs 96.6%), shorter ICU stay (0.78 ± 1.7 vs 1.91 ± 1.01 days), and shorter hospital stay (6.78 ± 2.4 vs 8.01 ± 2.5 days) in the RA-MIDCAB versus OPCAB group ( P &lt; 0.01). Surgery time decreased from 400.0 ± 70.8 to 325.0 ± 38.0 min with more experience in RA-MIDCAB BITA harvesting ( P &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: This is a first publication of 77 consecutive RA-MIDCAB BITA harvesting for left coronary artery system revascularization. This technique is safe in terms of MACCE and mortality. Additional advantages are shorter length of hospital stay, fewer ICU admissions, and less blood transfusion.

Saphenous vein to the right coronary system from the right thoracic artery or the aorta. Long-term propensity-matched results of 2 groups.

Since 2000, we anastomosed the saphenous vein graft to the right coronary artery system using the stump of the right internal thoracic artery as inflow. The long-term results of patients where the right coronary artery was grafted with the right internal thoracic artery or the ascending aorta as saphenous vein inflow has not been reported. From 2000 to 2018, 699 consecutive patients had right internal thoracic artery elongated with saphenous vein (I-graft group, n = 358, 51.2%) or saphenous vein from the aorta (Ao-graft group, n = 341, 48.8%) on right coronary artery system. Inclusion criteria were age ≤75 years, bilateral internal thoracic arteries as a Y graft on the left system (three-vessel disease, n = 603, 86.3%) or as a left internal thoracic artery on left anterior descending and right internal thoracic artery elongated with saphenous vein on the right coronary artery system (two-vessel disease, n = 96, 13.7%), only 1 saphenous vein per patient. Propensity-matching identified 272 patients per group. One-hundred and twenty-two patients underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography to asses grafts patency after a median follow-up of 88 (65-93) months. In the paired samples, there was no difference in the early outcome. Ten-year survival and freedom from death, non-fatal acute myocardial infarction and repeat revascularization were higher in I-graft group: 90.6 [standard error (SE): 2.0] vs 78.2 (SE: 5.3), P = 0.0266, and 85.2 (SE: 2.4) vs 69.9 (SE: 5.3), P = 0.0179. Saphenous vein graft, at a long-time follow-up, showed a higher patency rate (81.6% (SE: 7.0) vs 50.7% (SE: 7.9), P < 0.0001) and a smaller internal lumen diameter (2.7, standard deviation: 0.4 vs 3.4, standard deviation: 0.6 mm, P < 0.0001) when right internal thoracic artery was the inflow. Grafting the right coronary artery with saphenous vein may entail higher patency rate and better outcome when the inflow is the right internal thoracic artery than when is the ascending aorta. Prospective randomized data are needed to test this hypothesis.

Single versus bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting in patients with impaired renal function.

The optimal strategy for surgical revascularization in patients with impaired renal function is inconclusive. We compared early and late outcomes between bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) and single ITA (SITA) grafting in patients with renal dysfunction. This is a retrospective analysis of all the patients with multivessel disease and impaired renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60mL/min/1.73m2) who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) in our center during 1996-2011, utilizing either BITA or SITA revascularization. Of the 5301 patients with multivessel disease who underwent surgical revascularization during the study period, 391 were with impaired renal function: 212 (54.2%) underwent BITA, 179 (45.8%) underwent SITA. Patients who underwent BITA were less likely to have comorbidities. Statistically significant differences were not observed between the BITA and SITA groups in 30-day mortality (5.6% vs. 9.0%, p = 0.2) and in rates of early stroke, myocardial infarction, and sternal infection (4.5% vs. 6.1%, p = 0.467; 1.7% vs. 2.8%, p = 0.517; and 2.2% vs. 5.7%, p = 0.088, respectively). Long-term survival of the BITA group was better: median 8.36 vs. 4.14 years, p<0.001. In multivariable analysis, BITA revascularization was associated with decreased late mortality (HR = 0.704, 95% CI: 0.556-0.89, p = 0.003). In analysis of a matched cohort (134 pairs), early outcomes did not differ between the groups; however, in multivariable analysis, BITA revascularization was associated with decreased late mortality ‎‎(HR = 0.35 (95%CI 0.18-0.68), p = 0.002)‎. BITA revascularization did not impact early outcome in patients with CRF, but demonstrated a significant protective effect on long-term survival ‎in the unmatched and matched cohorts.

Off-pump bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting in patients with left main coronary artery disease

BackgroundTo compare postoperative outcomes in patients with left main coronary artery disease who underwent off-pump isolated coronary artery bypass grafting for multivessel disease using either skeletonized bilateral or single internal thoracic artery (ITA).MethodsAmong 1583 patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in our hospital between 2002 and 2022, 604 patients with left main coronary artery disease underwent single (n = 169) or bilateral (n = 435) ITA grafting. We compared postoperative outcomes between the two groups after adjusting preoperative characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weighting.ResultsAfter adjustment using inverse probability of treatment weighting method, the sum of weights was 599.74 in BITA group and 621.64 in SITA group. There was no significant difference in postoperative deep sternal wound infection (p = 0.227) and 30-day mortality (p = 0.612). Follow-up was completed in 98.7% (596/604) of the patients, and the mean follow-up duration was 6.7 years. At 10 years, the overall survival following bilateral versus single ITA grafting was 71.2% and 60.6%, respectively (log-rank test, p = 0.040), and freedom from major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) was 63.3% and 46.3%, respectively (log-rank test, p = 0.008). In multivariate Cox proportional hazard models, bilateral ITA grafting was significantly associated with a lower risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.706, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.504–0.987; p = 0.042) and MACCE (HR: 0.671, 95% CI: 0.499–0.902; p = 0.008).ConclusionsBilateral skeletonized ITA grafting is associated with lower rates of all-cause death and MACCE than single ITA grafting in patients with left main coronary artery disease undergoing off-pump CABG.

Chest Compression-Associated Internal Thoracic Artery Injury During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Incidence, Injury Patterns and Efficacy of Transcatheter Arterial Embolization.

To investigate the incidence and patterns of chest compression-associated internal thoracic artery injury (CAI) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and identify the embolization techniques used to treat hemorrhage. A retrospective study was conducted in the patients who underwent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for life-threatening hemorrhage caused by CAI at two tertiary care centers between May 2013 and December 2019. Data on background characteristics, imaging findings, embolization and outcomes were collected from the medical records. Among 385 patients in whom circulation returned after resuscitation, there were 9 patients (2.3%) who required TAE for CAI. Eight of 9 patients had acute myocardial infarction, and all had been started on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation before TAE. Seven patients had unilateral, and two had bilateral internal thoracic artery injuries. Main trunk injury of internal thoracic artery was seen in 27%, while branch injury in 73%. Six patients (67%) had multiple injuries in the internal thoracic artery territory, and five (56%) had injuries to other vessels. In all cases, we embolized the main trunk of the internal thoracic artery using n-butyl 2-cyanoacrylate and coils (n = 8), a gelatin sponge only (n = 2), or coils and a gelatin sponge (n = 1). TAE was technically successful in all, without any complication. The 30-day mortality rate was 44%. CAI needing hemostatic intervention occurred in 2.3% of patients after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Branch injury was more common than main trunk injury, and multiple vessel injuries were common. TAE appears to be safe and effective for controlling life-threatening hemorrhage.

Long-Term Outcomes of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Using an Internal Thoracic Artery versus a Radial Artery as a Second Arterial Graft.

To compare the outcomes of left circumflex artery (LCx) revascularization using an internal thoracic artery (ITA) or radial artery (RA) as the second arterial graft. Patients who underwent primary isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with left anterior descending artery revascularization using an ITA and LCx revascularization using another bilateral ITA (BITA group) or an RA (ITA-RA group) were included. All-cause mortality (primary endpoint), cardiac death, major adverse cardiac events, in-hospital death, and deep sternal wound infection (secondary endpoints) were evaluated. Among 790 patients (BITA, n = 548 (69%); ITA-RA, n = 242 (31%)), no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the groups was observed (hazard ratio (HR): 0.87; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67-1.12; p = 0.27) during follow-up (mean, 10 years). Multivariate analysis revealed that the BITA group exhibited significantly lower rates of long-term all-cause mortality (HR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.48-0.84; p = 0.01). In the propensity-matched cohort (n = 480, 240 pairs), significantly fewer all-cause deaths occurred in the BITA group (HR: 0.66; 95% CI 0.47-0.93; p = 0.02). There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes. When used as second grafts for LCx revascularization, ITA grafts may surpass RA grafts in reducing all-cause mortality 10 years postoperatively.

Long-term outcomes of complete bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting and traditional coronary bypass surgery in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease

Aim. To evaluate the long-term results of complete bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) grafting and traditional coronary bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with multivessel CAD.Material and methods. From June 2018 to December 2021, 646 CABG operations were performed in patients with multivessel CAD at the Federal Center for Cardiovascular Surgery (Krasnoyarsk). There were 178 patients receiving BITA grafting and 468 — traditional revascularization technique. After propensity score matching, 356 patients were selected, of which 99 had on-pump BITA (group 1), 178 — on-pump traditional revascularization (group 2), and 79 — off-pump BITA (group 3). There were more males (p=0,143 and p=0,547). The groups were comparable in age (p=0,343 and p=0,104), body mass index (p=0,532 and p=0,759), diabetes (p= 0,705 and p=0,667), the number of hemodynamically significant coronary stenoses (p=0,370 and p=0,595).Results. The follow-up period lasted 32,8±8,52 months. Long-term patient survival was 83,9% in group 2,93% in group 1 (p=0,041) and 94% in group 3 (p=0,039). Freedom from cardiovascular mortality was 100% in both groups of BITA grafting and 92,5% in group 2 (p=0,001 and p=0,039), freedom from major cardiovascular events was 94,2% in group 1, 85,1% in group 2 and 98,5% in group 3 (p=0,032 and p=0,03).Conclusion. BITA grafting is a modern effective and safe method of surgical myocardial revascularization both on- and off-pump. Up to 33 months. BITA grafting was associated with significantly better patient survival, complete freedom from cardiovascular mortality and a lower incidence of major cardiovascular events.

[Interpretation on Expert systematic review on the choice of conduits for coronary artery bypass grafting endorsed by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons in 2023].

Expert systematic review on the choice of conduits for coronary artery bypass grafting: endorsed by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons published in 2023 made recommendations for the selection of bypass vessels. The left internal thoracic artery-anterior descending branch anastomosis represents the accepted gold standard. Radial artery could achieve a better long-term patency rate and a reduction in adverse cardiac events compared to the great saphenous vein. Radial artery graft using an open harvesting method should be chosen to graft the target vessel with low competitive coronary flow, with the use of vasodilators for the first year. There was no clear evidence of better patency for the right internal thoracic artery compared to the great saphenous vein. The bilateral internal thoracic artery had better long-term survival compared to great saphenous vein but may be associated with a higher risk of deep sternal wound infection and should be avoided in high-risk patients. The impact of skeletonization of the internal thoracic artery on graft patency and cardiovascular outcomes was unclear. Endoscopic vein harvest reduced the risk of leg wound complications and was associated with reduced long-term patency. The patency of the no-touch great saphenous vein was significantly better than that of conventional great saphenous vein. A significantly higher risk of complications at the harvesting site and no clear evidence of better long-term clinical outcomes were found in the no-touch great saphenous vein compared to the conventional. There was limited data on the use of right gastroepiploic artery and skeletonized harvesting, which should be used to bypass target vessels in patients with low competitive flow.

Abstract 15146: Superior Outcomes of Dual-Arterial Compared With Single-Arterial CABG Are Maintained in Low-Volume Centers in the Veterans Health Administration

Introduction: A 2023 report of the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) demonstrated worse clinical outcomes with dual arterial CABG (DAG) compared to single arterial CABG (SAG) at low DAG volume centers (&lt;30 DAG/year). It is unclear how generalizable these results are to low DAG volume centers in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Objective: We investigated outcomes of DAG with bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) or radial artery (RA) plus vein grafts (VG) compared to SAG using a left internal thoracic artery (LITA) graft plus VG in the VHA. Methods: This study analyzed data from 25,969 patients undergoing isolated CABG between 2005 and 2015 at 44 VHA hospitals (all performing&lt;30 DAG/year). The primary outcome was 5-year mortality, and the secondary outcome was a composite of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE; all deaths, myocardial infarction, stroke, or repeat revascularization). Results: 1,261 patients (4.9%) received DAG (66.8% LITA plus RA/VG and 33.2% BITA/VG) and 24,708 patients (95.1%) had SAG. Median age and grafts per patient for DAG and SAG were 62 and 63 years and 3.0 and 3.0 grafts, respectively. At 5 years, mortality rates for DAG (10.6% [134 events]) were significantly lower vs. SAG (16.2% [4,011 events]). Similarly, MACCE were lower for DAG (22.0% [278 events]) vs. SAG (28.6% [7,078 events]). Kaplan-Meier analysis for all deaths showed a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.54 to 0.76) favoring DAG (Figure). A covariate-adjusted Cox model for DAG vs SAG revealed adjusted HR of 0.70 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.85) for all-cause mortality and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.70 to 0.91) for MACCE. Conclusions: In contrast to a recent STS-ACSD analysis, DAG in the VHA was associated with significantly improved 5-year survival and rates of MACCE compared to SAG. Additional studies are needed to understand the observed lack of negative DAG low-volume/outcome relationship in the VHA.

Abstract 12028: Long-Term Repeat Intervention Incidence in Octogenarians After Robotic-Assisted Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Introduction: We aim to analyze long-term repeat intervention incidence in octogenarians undergoing robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Hypothesis: We hypothesize that robotic-assisted CABG has a low incidence of repeat intervention compared to other clinical trials. Methods: All consecutive octogenarians (500 patients) undergoing robotic-assisted left internal thoracic artery (LITA) harvesting and CABG through a 4-cm left minithoracotomy with LITA to left anterior descending (LAD) artery anastomosis between 2005-2021 in a single center were included. Hybrid coronary revascularization (HCR) consists in robotic-assisted CABG followed by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with DES in a non-LAD target within 7-days from the operation. Results: Preoperatively, mean age was 83 (±2.9) year-olds, and mean STS-PROM risk score was 3.6% (2.1- 6.6). Intraoperatively, 478 (95.6%) patients received 1 LITA, 14 (12.8%) received bilateral ITA, and 8 (1.6%) a saphenous venous graft. A total of 303 (60.6%) patients received multiple arterial revascularizations while 140 (28%) received HCR. A total of 376 (75.2%) patients were extubated in the operating room. Postoperatively, 2 (0.4%) patients experienced non-fatal stroke, 6 (1.2%) had reoperation for bleeding, and 12 (2.4%) had renal failure. There was no 30-day mortality while 1 (0.2%) patient had PCI with DES on LITA-LAD anastomosis due to graft failure. Mean-follow-up was 2.9-years while incidence of all-cause death was 103 (20.6%) patients, MACCE 136 (27.2%), stroke 8 (1.6%), myocardial infarction 16 (3.2%), and repeat intervention with stents 39 (7.8%) were low. There was no repeat surgical intervention while PCI with drug-eluting stents for new coronary disease was 15/39 (38.4%) patients. Conclusions: Robotic-assisted CABG in octogenarians evidenced a 7.8% incidence of repeat intervention with stents.

Risk factors for sternal wound infection after open-heart operations: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

We aimed to quantitatively and systematically elucidate the rationality of the examined variables as independent risk factors for sternal wound infection. We searched databases to screen studies, ascertained the variables to be analysed, extracted the data and applied meta-analysis to each qualified variable. Odds ratios and mean differences were considered to be the effect sizes for binary and continuous variables, respectively. A random-effects model was used for these procedures. The source of heterogeneity was evaluated using a meta-regression. Publication bias was tested by funnel plot and Egger's test, the significant results of which were then calculated using trim and fill analysis. We used a sensitivity analysis and bubble chart to describe their robustness. After screening all variables in the eligible literature, we excluded 55 because only one or no research found them significant after multivariate analysis, leaving 33 variables for synthesis. Two binary variables (age over 65 years, NYHA class >2) and a continuous variable (preoperative stay) were not significant after the meta-analysis. The most robust independent risk factors in our study were diabetes mellitus, obesity, use of bilateral internal thoracic arteries, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, prolonged surgery time, prolonged ventilation and critical preoperative state, followed by congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, renal insufficiency, stroke, peripheral vascular disease and use of an intra-aortic balloon pump. Relatively low-risk factors were emergent/urgent surgery, smoking, myocardial infarction, combined surgery and coronary artery bypass grafting. Sternal wound infection after open-heart surgery is a multifactorial disease. The detected risk factors significantly affected the wound healing process, but some were different in strength. Anything that affects wound healing and antibacterial ability, such as lack of oxygen, local haemodynamic disorders, malnutrition condition and compromised immune system will increase the risk, and this reminds us of comprehensive treatment during the perioperative period.

Effect of Truncal Versus Branch Ligation of Inferior Thyroid Artery on Postoperative Hypocalcemia Patients Undergoing Thyroid Surgery: Rawalpindi

Objective: To investigate the effect of truncal or branch ligation of the inferior thyroid artery on postoperative hypocalcemia. Study Design: Quasi-experimental study.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Surgery, Pak Emirates Military Hospital (PEMH), Rawalpindi, Pakistan from July 2021 to June 2022.Methods: For this study, 60 patients were enrolled who underwent total thyroidectomy at the Department of Surgery from July 2021 to June 2022. Patients were divided into Group 'A' and Group 'B', with an equal number of 30 patients in each group. Patients in group 'A' underwent bilateral ITA ligation at the trunk, while patients in group 'B' underwent ligation of terminal branches of ITA on the gland capsule. The primary outcome was postoperative hypocalcemia on 1 postoperative day.Results: Our results showed a significant difference in hypocalcemia in both groups. Decreased incidence of biochemical hypocalcemia was found in branch ligation of ITA (3.33%) than trunk ligation (36.36%) P value 0.025.Conclusion: Branch ligation of ITA decreases the incidence of hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy.&#x0D; How to cite this: Javed R, Butt MQ, Tariq M, Qamar R, Bukhari ST. Effect of Truncal Versus Branch Ligation of Inferior Thyroid Artery on Postoperative Hypocalcemia Patients Undergoing Thyroid Surgery: Rawalpindi. Life and Science. 2023; 4(4): 452-457. doi: http://doi.org/10.37185/LnS.1.1.366

Bilateral versus single internal thoracic coronary artery bypass grafting: the ART RCT

Background There is debate whether the use of more arterial grafts during coronary artery bypass graft surgery provides advantages to the standard operation using the left internal thoracic artery plus vein grafts. We review data from the Arterial Revascularisation Trial to determine whether there is support for the multiple arterial graft hypothesis. Methods Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft for clinical reasons and who provided written informed consent were randomised to standard coronary artery bypass graft using the single internal thoracic artery or use of bilateral internal thoracic arteries. Additional vein grafts could be used. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 10 years and exploratory analyses were carried out to test the multiple arterial graft hypothesis. Results A total of 3102 patients were enrolled (1548 bilateral internal thoracic artery and 1554 single internal thoracic artery). Follow-up to 10 years for vital status was 98% complete. In the bilateral group, 14% of patients received a single internal thoracic artery only and use of radial artery grafts occurred in about 20% of patients in both groups. Aspirin was used in 81% of the patients, beta-blockers in 74%, statins in 90% and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers in 73%. At 10 years, death rates were 20.3% and 21.2% in the bilateral internal thoracic artery and single internal thoracic artery groups, respectively (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% confidence intervals 0.82 to 1.12; p = 0.62) and composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction or stroke 24.9% and 27.3%, respectively (hazard ratio 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.79 to 1.03; p = 0.12). Exploratory analyses using the ‘as-treated’ approach indicate that outcomes were better in patients who received multiple arterial grafts (adding the right internal thoracic and/or radial arteries) compared with a single arterial graft. This effect appeared to be greater in patients with diabetes and those aged 70 years or less. Use of total arterial grafting without vein grafts may provide the best outcomes. Limitations The elevated cross-over rate between bilateral internal thoracic artery and single internal thoracic artery and the non-randomised use of radial artery grafts may have contributed to a loss of power to detect a difference in mortality between the two groups. Moreover, secondary analyses are prone to bias as they compare non-randomised groups. Conclusions The Arterial Revascularisation Trial is one of the largest long-term studies in cardiac surgery. The primary analysis did not show a mortality benefit for bilateral internal thoracic artery at 10 years, perhaps due to high crossover rates in the bilateral internal thoracic artery group and concomitant use of the radial artery. Secondary analyses suggest a mortality benefit for patients receiving multiple arterial grafts compared with single arterial graft with possible greater effects in patients with diabetes and separately in patients aged 70 years or above. The trial will follow patients to 15 years and the continuing Randomized Comparison of the Clinical Outcome of Single versus Multiple Arterial Grafts trial will further test the multiple arterial graft hypothesis. Trial registration This trial is registered as ISRCTN46552265. Funding This project was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the UK. Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme and will be published in full in Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation; Vol. 10, No. 7. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

Technique of bilateral internal thoracic artery minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting with double-lung ventilation.

Technique of bilateral internal thoracic artery minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting with double-lung ventilation.

Comparison of postoperative exercise capacity of patients who underwent sternal closure with SternaLock Blu and those with traditional sternal wire closure following cardiovascular surgery via sternotomy

PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of postoperative exercise capacity of SternaLock Blu (Zimmer Biomet, USA) for post-sternotomy patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery.MethodsWe investigated 116 patients, including 35 women (mean age 70.3 ± 10.0 years), who underwent cardiovascular surgery by median sternotomy. Patients were candidate for using SternaLock Blu, such as obesity (body mass index  > 30/kg/m2), insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, steroid administrating, undergoing coronary bypass artery grafting used bilateral internal thoracic artery. These patients were categorized into those with SternaLock Blu (S group, n = 47) or with sternal wires only (N group, n = 69) for closing sternotomy, and their data were analyzed.ResultsMax Prince Henry Pain Scale (PHPS) was significantly low in the S group than in the N group (N vs. S = 2.7 ± 1.4 vs. 1.6 ± 1.7%, p < 0.001). Postoperative 6-min walk was significantly longer in the S group than in the N group (N vs. S = 346.2 ± 101.6 vs. 408.6 ± 104.6 m, p = 0.018). The length of intensive care unit (N vs. S = 4.9 ± 0.9 vs. 4.0 ± 1.2 days, p < 0.001) and hospitalization (N vs. S = 18.0 ± 5.0 vs. 15.2 ± 3.8 days, p = 0.006) were significantly shorter in the S group than in the N group.ConclusionsSternaLock Blu could keep exercise capacity, and might help reduce postoperative pain and medical treatment period for patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery.

Coronary artery bypass grafting using bilateral internal thoracic arteries in patients with diabetes and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundPatients with diabetes and obesity are at higher risk of adverse long-term outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting. The use of bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITA) can potentially offer survival benefit in higherrisk patientscompared to single internal thoracic artery (SITA), but BITAisnotroutinelyused due tolack of clear evidence of efficacy andconcerns over sternal wound complications. MethodsMedline, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched forstudies comparing the efficacy and safety of BITA and SITA grafting in patients with diabetes and obesity. Meta-analysis of mortality and sternal wound complications was performed. ResultsWe identified eight observational and ten propensity matched studies, and one RCT, comparing BITA and SITA which included patients with diabetes (n = 19,589); two propensity matched studies and one RCT which included patients with obesity (n = 6,972); mean follow up was 10.5 and 11.3 years respectively. Meta-analysis demonstrated a mortality reduction for BITA compared to SITA in patients with diabetes (risk ratio [RR] 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.70–0.90; p = 0.0003). In patients with obesity there was a non-significant reduction in mortality in the BITA group (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.47–1.12; p = 0.15). There was a significantly higher rate of sternal wound complications following BITA observed in patients with diabetes (RR 1.53, 95% CI 1.23–1.90; p = 0.0001) and obesity (RR 2.24, 95% CI 1.63–3.07; p < 0.00001). ConclusionsBITA is associated with better long-term survival in patients with diabetes. The effects of BITA grafting in patients with obesity are uncertain. BITA is associated with higher rates of sternal wound complications compared to SITA in both patients with diabetes and obesity.

Robotic Totally Endoscopic Coronary Bypass to the Left Anterior Descending Artery: Left Versus Right Internal Thoracic Artery Grafts

IntroductionThe left internal thoracic artery (LITA) is most commonly used to bypass the left anterior descending artery (LAD) given its well-established mortality benefit. In some cases, the grafting strategy necessitates placing the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) on the LAD. We compared outcomes in our robotic beating-heart totally endoscopic coronary bypass surgery (TECAB) population between patients receiving LITA versus RITA-LAD grafts. MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing robotic TECAB with skeletonized ITA conduits over 9 y. Outcomes were compared between those receiving LITA (Group-1) versus RITA (Group-2) grafts to the LAD (with/without other grafts). End points were early angiographic patency (in patients undergoing hybrid revascularization) and mid-term mortality/major adverse cardiac/cerebrovascular events. A propensity matched subanalysis was performed comparing only patients who received bilateral ITA grafting in each group. ResultsSociety of Thoracic Surgeons predicted mortality risk score was higher in Group-2. Group-1 patients had lower incidence of multivessel disease (75% versus 96%, P ≤ 0.001). Early overall graft patency (97% versus 96%, P = 0.718) and LAD graft patency (98% versus 95%, P = 0.372) were equivalent. At mean 42-mo follow-up (longest 8.5 y), Group-1 had lower all-cause mortality but no difference in cardiac mortality or repeat revascularization. In the propensity matched subanalysis, mid-term outcomes were equivalent. ConclusionsGrafting the LAD with the LITA or RITA during robotic beating-heart TECAB resulted in similar early outcomes and angiographic patency. RITA-LAD patients were more likely to have multivessel disease and higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk and had higher all-cause mortality at mid-term analysis but no difference in major adverse cardiac/cerebrovascular events, including cardiac mortality.