Relaxing Arteries Aids Bypass Surgery

The fat tissue surrounding thoracic arteries releases a factor that can reduce artery contraction during coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, which may be beneficial in patients undergoing the procedure, according to a new study.

That finding could lead to an answer to one of the challenges that cardiac surgeons face during CABG surgery. Arteries used for grafting contract during the surgery, making it more difficult for the surgeon to perform the procedure and restricting blood flow in the artery following the surgery.

Drugs are often used to prevent the contraction, but an earlier study published two years ago showed that one of the drugs most commonly used for that purpose could cause cellular damage to the blood vessel. That finding created the need to look for alternative methods of keeping the grafted artery relaxed during and after surgery.

During CABG, surgeons usually remove the fat tissue surrounding the artery they are using for grafting, providing access to more of the artery surface and making the procedure easier to perform. The new finding, reported in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, may now change this.

"We have demonstrated for the first time that fat surrounding the internal thoracic artery of humans produces a factor which can relax the artery,” said Dr. Robert Lee of the department of anesthesia, McMaster University (Hamilton, CA), and one of the researchers who worked on the study. "This is potentially important, because retaining the fat tissue surrounding these artery grafts during CABG may help alleviate or prevent artery contraction.”





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