Graft Flow Assessment with Transthoracic Doppler After Coronary Arterial Bypass Grafting with Bilateral Internal Thoracic Arteries

Abstract

Purpose — The aim of our study is to assess the transthoracic Doppler parameters of left internal thoracic artery`s stem (LITA) flow after coronary artery bypass surgery with free right internal thoracic artery using Y graft technique and compare them with such parameters of LITA‐LAD (left anterior descending) graft flow after regular coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Material and Methods — 51 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease underwent CABG. Comparison between groups was performed using the following parameters: age, body mass index, angina class, presence of hypertension and diabetes, left ventricular ejection fraction and haemoglobin level, hemodynamic parameters during the Doppler investigation. Results — Higher systolic acceleration time value in Y graft group is due to bigger runoff of Y graft compared with the classic group. The diastolic acceleration time is shorter in Y graft group as the distal coronary runoff is bigger and LITA`s peak flow accelerates faster. The systolic and diastolic acceleration times are very sensitive parameters which depend on the distal coronary runoff changes. Conclusions — We conclude that blood flow volume in tha LITA graft depend of coronary artery distal run‐off and rising when we using to revascularize more than one coronary artery.