Abstract
Objective
There is varying evidence on the role of skeletonization of internal mammary artery in reducing the risk of sternal wound infections and ischemia following bilateral internal mammary artery grafting. We opt to compare post-operative clinical outcomes of skeletonized bilateral internal mammary artery versus pedicled bilateral internal mammary artery harvesting in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.
Method
A comprehensive electronic search was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane database and Google Scholar from inception until 15th June 2020. All studies directly comparing skeletonized and pedicled bilateral internal mammary artery harvesting were included. Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis was conducted.
Results
Ten studies consisting of 3728 patients (2098 patients with skeletonized bilateral internal mammary artery grafting and 1630 patients with pedicled bilateral internal mammary artery grafting) were included. Pooled effects analysis and trial sequential analysis reported significantly lower risk of sternal wound infection with skeletonized bilateral internal mammary artery harvesting (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.20 – 0.51, p < 0.00001). S-BIMA may be associated with lower late mortality, but more information is required to confirm this.
Conclusions
Skeletonization reduces the risk of sternal wound infections by preserving vasculature as much as possible. This makes it an important technique for use in bilateral internal mammary artery grafting for high-risk patients.
177 Pedicled Or Skeletonized Bilateral Internal Mammary Artery Harvesting - A Meta- Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis
