BENEFICIAL IMPACT OF AORTOCORONARY GRAFT MARKERS ON POSTOPERATIVE ANGIOGRAPHY

Objective: When coronary and graft angiography is required for patient s with prior coronary artery bypass (CAB) graft surgery, it is often d ifficult to localize the proximal aorto-coronary graft anastamosis. Ou r goal was to quantify the potential benefit during subsequent angiogr aphy if the proximal anastamosis is marked by an aorto-coronary graft marker at the time of CAB. Methods: Retrospective review of 414 angiog rams that were performed for patients with prior CAB. Cohorts with and without graft markers were compared. Results: In the group with aorto -coronary graft markers and greater than or equal to 2 aorto-coronary grafts, there were significant reductions in fluoroscopy time (30.5%, p <0.0001), contrast volume (21.7%, p<0.0001), and numbers of angiogra phic catheters used (17.0%, p=0.0001). If only one aorto-coronary graf t was placed and marked, a trend toward reduced fluoroscopy time was o bserved (23.8%, p=0.07). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the obje ctive benefit supporting routine placement of circumferential aorto-co ronary graft markers during CAB, particularly if >1 graft is required. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.dagger.