A unilateral approach to bilateral thoracoscopic internal mammary artery harvesting.

A technique of harvesting both internal mammary arteries thoracoscopically using three unilateral ports is described. Bilateral thoracoscopic internal mammary artery (IMA) harvesting was performed using a unilateral approach in 18 patients. The mean harvest time for harvesting was 52.3 +/- 17.5 min for the contralateral LIMA and 35.6 +/- 6.7 min for the ipsilateral RIMA. The mean free flow for the 36 harvested arteries was 58.7 +/- 13.6 cc/min. Bilateral thoracoscopic IMA harvesting, from a single side, is safe and reproducible. Satisfactory length of both arterial conduits can be obtained with half the ports and in less time than harvesting from each side.