Endoscopic radial artery harvesting (ERAH) is a feasible and attractive minimally invasive approach for conduit procurement, however there have been concerns about a potential neurological damage occurring at the harvest limb site secondary to injury of the radial nerve during endoscopic harvesting. We present a case of ERAH in which we evaluated intraoperatively the characteristics of radial n...

endoscopic radial artery harvesting (erah) is a feasible and attractive minimally invasive approach for conduit procurement, however there have been concerns about a potential neurological damage occurring at the harvest limb site secondary to injury of the radial nerve during endoscopic harvesting. we present a case of erah in which we evaluated intraoperatively the characteristics of radial n...

Development and adoption of endoscopic minimally invasive saphenous vein harvesting prompted its application to the radial artery in an effort to minimize surgical trauma. Recently, we reported that endoscopic radial artery harvesting was associated with better wound appearance and it proved to be safe and effective, with less pain and fewer wound complications than the open surgical technique....

BACKGROUND Vein-graft harvesting with the use of endoscopy (endoscopic harvesting) is a technique that is widely used to reduce postoperative wound complications after coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG), but the long-term effects on the rate of vein-graft failure and on clinical outcomes are unknown. METHODS We studied the outcomes in patients who underwent endoscopic harvesting (1753 pat...

BACKGROUND Use of endoscopic saphenous vein harvesting has developed into a routine surgical approach at many cardiothoracic surgical centers. The association between this technique and long-term morbidity and mortality has recently been called into question. The present report describes the use of open versus endoscopic vein harvesting and risk of mortality and repeat revascularization in nort...

Background The greater saphenous vein is commonly used in coronary revascularization. Beside classical methods of vein harvesting, endoscopic technique is applied. The introduction of endoscopic vein harvesting remains still controversial and therefore needs some more data resulting from application of this method. This study was performed to investigate the influence of endoscopic and open sap...

BACKGROUND The saphenous vein is an important conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting. Wound complications from traditional open vein harvesting occur often. Minimally invasive endoscopic saphenous vein harvesting may decrease wound complications. Vein quality may be an issue with endoscopic harvesting. METHODS We reviewed 568 patients who had bypass grafting and saphenous vein harvesting...

AIM An ageing population and increase in patient co-morbidities are forcing cardiac surgeons to meticulously consider the benefits and risks of respective conduits and their harvesting techniques. CASE REPORTS Two cases of simultaneous endoscopic radial artery and great saphenous vein harvesting, for redo coronary artery bypass grafting, are presented. A shortage of venous conduits after prev...

OBJECTIVE Preparation of the great saphenous vein for coronary artery bypass grafts is usually performed through one or many cutaneous incisions. A technique of endoscopic harvesting is now available. An aim of the study was to compare both methods, prospectively. METHODS Sixty coronary artery bypass grafting patients were randomly assigned to two groups according to saphenous vein harvesting...

In recent times, practice in cardiac surgery has shifted towards using endoscopic techniques to harvest the saphenous vein from the leg for use as a bypass graft. A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2009 raised concerns over increased graft occlusion rates in veins harvested endoscopically. This NEJM paper has been criticized, but has nonetheless been influential ...