Endoscopic saphenous vein harvest decreases leg wound complication in coronary artery bypass grafting patients

Background: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the most common proce dure performed in adult cardiovascular surgery. The most frequently used co nduit is the greater saphenous vein. Using traditional methods, the complic ation rate of the leg is relatively high (up to 24%). To decrease the compl ication rate, we used the Endo-Path to harvest the greater saphenous vein. Methods and Results: From May 1997 through March 1999, a total of 135 patie nts received the CABG operation. We excluded the patients who died immediat ely postoperatively or had concomitant surgical procedures. Sixty patients received the endoscopic saphenous vein harvest procedure (group A), while a nother 59 patients (group B) did not. No important differences were noted b etween the two groups in respect to the number of distal anastomoses, lengt h of harvested vein, total surgical time, and length of ICU stay. However, the leg wound complication rate decreased from 20.3% to 5.0% (p < 0.001). C onclusions: Although the long-term patency rate needs time to be proven, th e endoscopic greater saphenous vein harvest method is an attractive and eff ective method.