A comparison of internal mammary artery and saphenous vein grafts after coronary artery bypass surgery. No difference in 1-year occlusion rates and clinical outcome. CABADAS Research Group of the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of The Netherlands.

BACKGROUND Superior patency rates for internal mammary artery (IMA) grafts compared with vein coronary bypass grafts have been demonstrated by retrospective studies. This difference may have been affected by selection bias of patients and coronary arteries for IMA grafting. METHODS AND RESULTS To estimate the difference between IMA and vein grafts, we analyzed graft patency data of 912 patients who entered a randomized clinical drug trial. In this trial, 494 patients received both IMA and vein grafts (group 1) and 418 only vein grafts (group 2). Occlusion rates of IMA grafts and IMA plus vein... Mehr ...