Simple adaptations of surgical technique to critically reduce the risk of postoperative sternal complications in patients receiving bilateral internal thoracic arteries

摘要

OBJECTIVESLimited blood supply to the thoracic chest wall is a known risk factor for sternal wound complications after CABG. Therefore, bilateral internal thoracic arteries are still rarely utilized despite their proven superior graft patency. The aim of our study was to analyse whether modification of the surgical technique is able to limit the risk of sternal wound complications in patients receiving bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting.