BACKGROUND Endoscopic harvesting of the greater saphenous vein is increasingly used during cardiac surgery to improve patient satisfaction and reduce the wound complications associated with traditional open techniques. Although histologic studies suggest no significant difference in vein quality between these two techniques, long-term follow-up is lacking to address whether graft patency and ev...

BACKGROUND Currently, breast conservation therapy is commonly performed for the treatment of early breast cancer. Depending on the volume excised, patients may require volume replacement, even in cases of partial mastectomy. The use of the latissimus dorsi muscle is the standard method, but this procedure leaves an unfavorable scar on the donor site. We used an endoscope for latissimus dorsi ha...

n engl j med 361;19 nejm.org november 5, 2009 1910 the differences between these observational data sets might provide insights to further refine endoscopic-harvesting techniques. We look forward to seeing these data published in the peer-reviewed literature. Our analysis has identified an important potential area for quality improvement in cardiac surgery, and further observational and randomi...

Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery The saphenous vein (SV) is the most commonly used conduit for coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG)[1], with minimally invasive endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) being used in the majority of CABG in the USA[2]. While the benefits of EVH include reduced wound complications and improved cosmetic outcome, an inferior patency rate of EVH-SVs compared to t...