Okamoto Hiroshi, Tamenishi Akinori, Itoh Yutaka, Niimi Takao
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yokkaichi City Hospital, 2-22-37 Shibata, Yokkaichi 510-8567, Japan.
Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2002 Oct;50(10):435-8. doi: 10.1007/BF02913178.
In the presence of a midline-crossed internal thoracic artery graft, a median sternotomy may jeopardize the graft and compromise hemodynamics. We report successful aortic valve replacement using a "staircase" thoracotomy and hypothermic axillary perfusion with balloon aortic occlusion in 2 men who had patent right internal thoracic artery grafts that was previously anastomosed to the left anterior descending coronary artery.