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Coronary artery bypass grafting using a bifurcating radial artery

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan

^* Corresponding author. Tel: +81-96-373-5205; fax: +81-96-373-5207
shisa{at}kaiju.medic.kumamoto-u.ac.jp

A 61-year-old man with angina pectoris was admitted for elective coronary artery bypass grafting. The left anterior descending artery, and the two posterolateral branches (PLA1 and PLA2) of the circumflex artery required bypass grafting. At operation, the distal portion of the left radial artery was found to bifurcate, both branches having an equal size. We decided to use the bifurcating radial artery as a conduit for bypass grafting to the branches of the left circumflex artery. One distal end of the radial artery was subsequently anastomosed to the PLA1 branch and the other distal end was anastomosed to PLA2. Postoperative coronary angiography showed both branches of the radial artery to have good patency.

Key Words: Coronary artery bypass grafting; Bifurcating radial artery