Recycling of the internal mammary artery in coronary reoperation.

In 5 patients undergoing a coronary artery reoperation, the internal mammary artery graft was taken down and reused. No special problems were encountered perioperatively or postoperatively. Because the number of grafts and distal anastomoses performed in coronary reoperations is increasing, lack of suitable graft conduits will be a problem in the future. Recycling an internal mammary artery graft may be an option to achieve good revascularization in some coronary reoperations.