All or Nothing Saphenous Vein Graft Harvesting

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery remains the optimal revascularization strategy in patients with complex ischemic multivessel coronary artery disease. Long-term benefits of this surgical procedure are highly dependent on preserved graft patency, which serves as a major factor in clinical prognosis and long-term survival. The greater saphenous vein continues to be the ideal vessel of choice, and utilization of optimal harvesting techniques to minimize conduit injury remains an important determinate in preserving graft patency. Open-vein and no-touch harvesting have shown to confer superior long-term graft patency individually as compared to traditional endoscopic techniques. Combining these practices could synergistically provide multifactorial benefits in preserving and extending graft patency beyond other harvesting techniques. In the search to improve the most common surgical procedure in adult cardiac surgery, utilization of both open-vein and no-touch harvesting in ideal candidates could prove to be essential in positively impacting both long-term clinical outcomes and post-operative mortality