Stable hemodynamics within “no-touch” saphenous vein graft

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the hemodynamics characteristics of the “no-touch” saphenous vein graft (SVG. conduits by nicardipine intraluminal administration in vivo experiment. Methods: A total of 59 consecutive patients were enrolled and underwent a sequential SVG to three non-left anterior descending (LAD. targets with the average runoff ≤2 mm, 30 with “no-touch” harvest technique (group A. and 29 with conventional preparation (group B). The patients were subject to nicardipine intraluminal injection during offpump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG. procedure. The intraoperative flow was measured with the ultrasonic transit time flow meter (TTFM), and the graft patency testified by multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT. angiography, respectively. Results: The baseline blood flow was higher in group A than that in group B (p <0.05). However, the increases in blood flow of SVG conduits in group A were lower than those in group B with 19.7 ± 5.9 vs. 35.4 ± 9.2 mL/min, 14.8 ± 5.6 vs. 23.1 ± 6.8 mL/min, 6.6 ± 2.1 vs. 11.2 ± 4.3 mL/min before the first, second, and third anastomose after nicardipine intraluminal administration, respectively (all p <0.01). Conclusions: No-touch SVGs were associated with higher baseline blood flow and less rises after nicardipine intraluminal administration during off-pump CABG procedure compared with conventional preparation. The no-touch SVGs seemed to be less spastic and well-tolerated on flow dilatation.