Preparation of the internal mammary artery graft. Which is the best method?

Early reports questioned the adequacy of flow of the internal mammary artery when used routinely as a bypass graft. "Adequate" mammary artery flow is now contested only in certain situations, that is, left ventricular hypertrophy, acute myocardial infarction, and reoperations. To compare the methods of mammary pedicle graft preparations with free mammary artery flow, we studied 31 patients who had the left internal mammary artery harvested for elective coronary artery bypass grafting. Group I comprised 14 patients whose mean body surface area was 1.91 m2. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures, left atrial pressure, and heart rate were recorded and stabilized during flow measurements. Free flow of the internal mammary artery was measured before any pharmacologic manipulation and ranged from 5 to 44 ml/min (mean 18 ml/min). The grafts were sprayed and wrapped in sponges soaked in diluted papaverine solution (60 mg in 40 ml normal saline) for an average of 21 minutes. Free flow ranged from 10 to 108 ml/min (mean 51 ml/min). Intraluminal papaverine of the same dilution was then injected with hydrostatic dilatation. Immediate internal mammary artery flows rose from 150 to 333 ml/min (mean 229 ml/min). Group II comprised 17 patients who had internal mammary artery takedown under the exact conditions used in group I. Mean body surface area was 1.89 m2. Mammary artery pedicles were injected with diluted papaverine throughout their lengths with size 25 needles. After an average of 19.5 minutes, free flow ranged from 28 to 132 ml/min (mean 69 ml/min). Intraluminal diluted papaverine was then administered as in group I, and flows increased from 144 to 280 ml/min (mean 198 ml/min). The distal internal mammary arteries in both groups were 1.75 to 2.5 mm in internal diameter at the site of arteriotomy for flow measurement. This study shows that all mammary arteries are in spasm immediately after harvest and that flow is inadequate before any pharmacologic intervention. Although extraluminal vasodilators will increase free mammary artery flow, intraluminal papaverine followed by hydrostatic dilatation raises free flow to maximal capacity. Subsequent graft spasm has not been observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)