Endoscopic venous harvesting by inexperienced operators compromises venous graft remodeling.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) is the standard of care for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the United States, but recent comparisons with open harvesting suggest that conduit quality and outcomes may be compromised in EVH. To test the hypothesis that problems with EVH may relate to its learning curve and conduit quality, we analyzed the quality and early function of conduits procured by technicians with varying experience in EVH.

Methods

Experienced (more than 900 cases, n=55 patients) and novice (less than 100 cases, n=30 patients) technicians performed EVH during CABG. Subsequently, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to examine the conduits for vascular injury, with segments identified as injured being further examined for gene expression wi

SUBMITTER: Kiani S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3244561 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature