Histomorphological studies of the distal internal thoracic artery which support its use for coronary artery bypass grafting

The use of the internal thoracic artery (ITA) for myocardial revascularizat ion in coronary artery disease increased because of its relative immunity t o atherosclerotic obstruction. This study investigated the distal part of t he vessel, the region of anastomosis by means of histology to focus the vis ualization of this region of interest. The histological examination of arte rial segments showed minor intimal thickening in 48 out of 100 patients. Tw elve patients demonstrated a severe intimal thickening, the residual patien ts were without any changes. In 52% the elastic type dominated in the dista l part. Hybrid and muscular patterns were found in 22 and 26%, respectively . The media could be classified into three different types: muscular, hybri d and elastic type. There was no correlation concerning the different histo logical type and the incidence of intimal thickening. No evidence whatsoeve r of atherosclerotic lesion was encountered in any of the investigated vess els. There is no limitation in the use of the distal part of the ITA for co ronary artery revascularization. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.