Application of ultrasonic aspirator for dissection of the internal mammary artery in coronary artery bypass grafting.

The low-power ultrasonic aspirator was used for the dissection of the internal mammary artery (IMA) in 20 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Harvesting time was shorter and the amount of bleeding was less than with the ordinary method. The short-term patency rate (1 to 6 months) for those IMA grafts was 95% (19 of 20 remained patent). These results have encouraged us to use the ultrasonic aspirator routinely for IMA dissection.