Radiological anatomy of the right gastroepiploic artery

Most gastroplasties performed to replace the esophagus are vascularized by the right gastroepiploic artery alone. Its origin, course and anatomical relations are classical and subject to little variation. Conversely, its mode of termination and relations to the left gastroepiploic artery have received quite different descriptions in the literature. This report describes the radiological anatomy of the right gastroepiploic artery based on arteriograms in 50 subjects. The right gastroepiploic artery was much larger (diameter 1.7 to 2.6 mm at its origin) than the left (absent in 3 cases) in our series. Direct end-to-end anastomosis of these two arteries, as described in classical reports, was found in only 23.5% of cases.