742-4 Radial Artery Graft: Angiographic Follow-up

Interest in the use of the radial artery (RA) as a coronary bypass graft has increased. Attention to harvesting and use of perioperative calcium channel inhibitors have ameliorated problems with spasm noted in earlier studies. Since 1993, 72 patients (pts) underwent grafting using a free RA from the non-dominant forearm. Re-angiography was performed in 24 pts to date and is the subject of this study. Pts ranged from 39–79 years (mean 55.5); all had 2 or 3 vessel disease and an average of 3 grafts/pt were constructed (range 2–4). Left internal thoracic artery (L1TA) was used in all cases except 1. The RA was a single graft in 19 including 2 to the LAD system, 12 to the circumflex system and 5 to the RCA. The RA-was sequential in 5 cases. Of the 24 pts catheterized an average of 9 weeks post-op 24/24 RA's were patent: 1 (sequential) RA had a mid-graft stenosis. There was no spasm seen in any RA. RA distal diameters (2.6 mm) were well matched to the recipient vessel (RV) (2.2 mm). The ratio RV/graft diameter was 0.83 for the radial artery similar to the ratio for the L1TA (0.90). Conclusion The RA is a viable coronary conduit, easily harvested and has excellent early patency rates.