Intraoperative Grafts Assessment

Graft patency strongly influences early and late outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. The current standard of care in CABG surgery does not require intraoperative imaging. Because coronary angiography is rarely available in the operating room (OR), other techniques have been developed to assess graft integrity intraoperatively. The 2 most commonly used are the transit time flow measurement (TTFM) and the intraoperative fluorescence imaging (IFI). The TTFM is a quantitative volume flow technique, whereas the IFI is based on the fluorescent properties of indocyanine green. TTFM cannot define the degree of graft stenosis nor discriminate between the influence of the graft conduit and the coronary arteriolar bed on the mean graft flow. IFI provides a “semiquantitative” assessment of the graft patency with images that provide some details about the quality of coronary anastomoses. Both methods are valuable in identifying only at the extremes, that is, either patent or occluded grafts, and can confirm very good grafts; however, neither method is sensitive or specific enough in identifying more subtle abnormalities. These abnormal grafts most likely have poor long-term patency and are predestined to fail. The hybrid suite has the capability of serving both as a complete surgical OR and as a catheterization laboratory. It allows for routine completion angiogram following CABG surgery and identifies abnormal grafts, providing the opportunity to revise them with percutaneous coronary intervention or surgery before leaving the OR.

Keywords: CABG surgery, intraoperative grafts assessment