ISSN : 1301-5680
e-ISSN : 2149-8156
Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery     
Minimally invasive radial artery harvesting for coronary artery bypass surgery
Caner Arslan1, Tamer Turan1, Bekir Kayhan1, Emir Cantürk1, Levent Kaplan1, Mehmet Salih Bilal2
1Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, TDV 29 Mayıs Hospital, İstanbul
2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center, İstanbul
Ba­ckgro­und: We aimed to harvest radial arteries for coronary bypass procedures with minimally invasive technique without any special instrument and endoscope.

Metho­ds: For 25 patients (16 males, 9 females; mean age 64±5.2; range 50 to 72 years) who underwent coronary bypass surgery, radial arteries were harvested with two 3-4 cm longitudinal skin incisions. One of them was over the distal radial artery and the other was over the mid-forearm. After radial artery segment between these two incisions were harvested, proximal segment was prepared by using automatic retractor inserted proximally and the radial artery stump was occluded by hemoclips. This obviated the need for extra incision for harvesting the full length of the radial artery.

Results: The condition of the radial artery was controlled with blood flow. There were no complications such as hematomas, nerve damage, or delay in wound healing in the donor extremity. Patient satisfaction was better as well. Control angiographies showed no problem related to these grafts.

Co­nclusio­n: Minimally invasive radial artery harvesting can be easily performed through two small incisions without extra instruments.

Keywords : Minimal invasive; radial artery
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