Radial Artery as Conduit is Safe and Effective in Coronary Bypass Surgery in the Elderly

Background: As an increasing number of aging patients are being referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the radial artery (RA) has gained increasing popularity as a conduit. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of RA in CABG for the elderly with coronary heart disease. Methods and Results: Three hundred and twenty-six elderly patients underwent CABG with RA harvesting between January 2000 and June 2008. A total of 377 RA as grafts were collected. The mean number of distal anastomoses per patient was 3.1 while the mean for RA was 1.1. The operative mortality was 3.1%. Twenty patients developed atrial fibrillation, 7 experienced acute renal failure, 9 had neurological accidents, and 4 had myocardial infarction. There was no ischemic complication on hand. Paresthesia in the donor hand was found in 2 patients. A complete follow up was obtained in 77.2% of patients, with a mean time of 53.5 ±35.9 months. RA patency displayed by coronary angiography was 95.83% after a mean time of 74 months of follow up. Conclusions: It was proven to be safe and effective to use RA as a secondary arterial graft after the left internal mammary artery in the elderly patients. (Circ J 2009; 73: 1049-1054)