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Do cardiac stabilizers really stabilize? Experimental quantitative analysis of mechanical stabilization

¹ Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Luigi Sacco Hospital, Via G.B. Grassi 74, 20157, Milan, Italy
² Department of Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
³ Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Milan, Italy

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-239042333; fax: +39-239042652.

E-mail address: m.lemma{at}hsacco.it (M. Lemma).

In order to assess the three-dimensional movement of the coronary arteries both during normal cardiac activity and after mechanical stabilization, a polypropylene black marker was placed in 10 pigs on the middle portion of the three main coronary branches. Marker motion was recorded for 10 s using two TV-digital cameras and was estimated with a precision of 50 µm. After stabilization with three different mechanical stabilizers (Medtronic, Genzyme, CTS-Guidant), a remnant coronary artery excursion of about 1.5–2.4 mm was found. There is a significant residual coronary artery motion after mechanical stabilization, which could affect the quality of anastomosis, especially in unfavourable situations.

Key Words: Coronary artery bypass graft; Off pump myocardial revascularization; Mechanical stabilizer

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