Gastroepiploic artery as an in situ coronary artery bypass graft: evaluation of MRI and colour Doppler ultrasound in follow-up

Scand J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995;29(1):7-10. doi: 10.3109/14017439509107194.

Abstract

The right gastroepiploic artery, increasingly used as an in situ coronary artery bypass graft, has good long-term patency. This study aimed to assess the accuracy and limitations of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and colour Doppler ultrasound (US) in postoperative follow-up of such cases. In eight consecutive patients (6 men, 2 women, mean age 57 years), conventional angiography, MRI and US were performed to evaluate graft patency. Colour Doppler US, performed within a week of the operation, correctly detected flow in three patent grafts. MRI (1.5 tesla) was performed c. 17 months after surgery, using a spine coil and a coronal two-dimensional Flash-type imaging sequence. At angiography six of the eight gastroepiploic artery grafts were patent, and two were occluded. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI were 100%. This accuracy makes MRI a promising method for noninvasive post-operative evaluation of right gastroepiploic artery graft patency.

MeSH terms

  • Arteries / transplantation*
  • Coronary Angiography
  • Coronary Artery Bypass / methods*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Omentum / blood supply*
  • Postoperative Period
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Stomach / blood supply*
  • Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color
  • Vascular Patency*