Objectives:

Today, the internal thoracic artery and great saphenous vein are the most used coronary bypass grafts. Patency of the arterial grafts is better than vein grafts. Alternative arterial grafts are needed in the following cases: when the internal thoracic artery and great saphenous vein cannot be used or they were used in the previous operations, when more than one coronary artery is needed for grafting, or more than one graft is neded at the operation.

Material and Methods:

This study aims to reveal whether lateral thoracic and thoracodorsal arteries taken from 9 male cadavers at 56,67±6,38 years old, bilaterally are available to be used as a graft in coronary bypass surgery. The morphologic properties (length, lumen diamater, thickness of tunica intima and media, properties of internal and external elastic lamina, elastic and smooth muscle component of tunica media) of the proximal, middle and distal parts of these arteries are compared with internal thoracic, radial and coronary arteries’s (anterior interventricular branch, circumflex branch, right coronary artery).

Results:

It is determined that the lateral thoracic and thoracodorsal arteries have well-developed internal elastic lamina. Furthermore thickness of tunica intima and externa of the lateral thoracic and thoracodorsal arteries are observed to be similar or thinner than of the internal thoracic and radial arteries. These data are evaluated as positive properties in terms of using both of these arteries as graft in coronary bypass surgery.

Conclusions:

Length and lumen diameter of thoracodorsal artery are found adequate while lateral thoracic artery is not found adequate for single free graft. Neverthless, both of these arteries are found suitable to be used as composite grafts (as Y graft) with other grafts in terms of lenght and lumen diameter.

Keywords: Alternative Arterial Graft, Lateral Thoracic Artery, Thoracodorsal Artery, Coronary Bypass Surgery