ObjectiveTo evaluate the surgical technique and the effectiveness of the free superficial palmar branch of the radial artery flap to repair soft tissue defect of fingers.MethodsBetween June 2014 and June 2017, 10 cases (10 fingers) of soft tissue defects of fingers were repaired with the free superficial palmar branch of the radial artery flaps. There were 8 males and 2 females with an average age of 29.8 years (range, 23-42 years). The causes of injury included the chainsaw cutting injury in 6 cases, the machine crush injury in 2 cases, and the glass scratching in 2 cases. The time from injury to admission was 1-8 hours with an average of 3 hours. The locations were the volar of the middle of index finger in 3 cases, the volar of the distal of index finger in 1 case, the volar of the distal of middle finger in 3 cases, the ulnar side of distal interphalangeal joint of ring finger in 1 case, and the volar of the distal of the little finger in 2 cases. The area of soft tissue defect ranged from 1.8 cm×0.9 cm to 2.8 cm×2.1 cm, and the area of flap ranged from 2.0 cm×1.0 cm to 3.0 cm×2.3 cm. The donor sites were sutured directly.ResultsAll flaps survived after operation, and the wounds healed by first intention. The incisions of donor site also healed by first intention with a linear scar. All cases were followed up 6-12 months (mean, 9 months). The appearance and texture of the flaps were satisfactory. The pain sensation, warm sensation, and touch sensation of the flap recovered. At last follow-up, the two-point discrimination of the flap was 6-13 mm (mean, 7.5 mm). According to the assessment of the upper limb function issued by tha Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association, the results were graded as excellent in 8 cases and good in 2 cases.ConclusionThe free superficial palmar branch of the radial artery flap is easy to harvest and anastomose and has small injury. It is an ideal method in repairing of soft tissue defects of fingers.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical application of the flap supported by perforating branch of the radial artery superior wrist catena-form blood vessel in repairing hand and wrist wound. MethodsBetween March 2010 and March 2013, 24 cases of severe wounds in wrist were repaired with the flap supported by perforating branch of forearm radial artery and catena-form blood vessel. There were 15 males and 9 females, aged 19-54 years (mean, 37 years). In 22 patients with trauma, there were 9 cases of machine injury, 5 cases of traffic accident injury, 5 cases of crash injury of heavy objects, 1 case of sharp instrument injury, and 2 cases of electrical injury, with a mean disease duration of 11 days (range, 2-20 days). In 2 patients with tumor excision wound, there were 1 case of right forearm liposarcoma and 1 case of left forearm squamous-cell carcinoma, with the disease duration of 7 days and 3 months, respectively. All cases complicated by bone and tendon exposure. The size of defect was 4.5 cm×4.0 cm to 10.0 cm×7.5 cm, and the size of the flap was 6.0 cm×4.0 cm to 20.0 cm×8.5 cm. The donor site was directly sutured or repaired by skin graft. ResultsPartial flap necrosis occurred in 1 case, and was cured after dressing change; the other flaps survived, and primary healing of incision was obtained. The patients were followed up 6-36 months (mean, 20 months). The flap featured good color and texture, and also recovered protective sensation at 6 months after operation, with a mean two-point discrimination of 12 mm (range, 11-14 mm). No ulcers of the flap was observed. At last follow-up, according to Hand Surgery Society of Chinese Medical Association for functional evaluation of upper limb, the function was rated as excellent in 19 cases, good in 4 cases, and fair in 1 case. ConclusionThe flap supported by perforating branch of forearm radial artery and catena-form blood vessel can be used to repair wound in wrist, which has no injury to the radial artery, and it also could be used for the patients with ulnar and radial artery injuries. Thus it is an ideal method to repair wound in the wrist because the operation is simple, and the flap has good appearance and texture.
ObjectiveTo explore the outcomes achieved by using left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to radial artery (RA) or saphenous vein (SV) Y-composite grafts in minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) for patients with multiple vessel disease. MethodsFrom January 2009 through May 2015, 56 patients (36 males and 20 females) with multiple vessel disease underwent MIDCAB with LIMA-RA or LIMA-SV Y-composite grafts without cardiopulmonary bypass in our hospital. MIDCAB was performed through a left anterior minithoracotomy. Thirty four patients used LIMA-RA grafts, and twenty two patients used LIMA-SV grafts. ResultsAll patients success-fully underwent MIDCAB with LIMA-SV or LIMA-RA Y-composite grafts. No patient required to convert to sternotomy during the surgery. Revascularization was performed for 2 target vessels in 12 patients, 3 target vessels in 41 patients and 4 target vessels in 3 patients. Mean postoperative ventilation time was 27.14±31.35 h. Mean ICU time was 3.16±2.53 d, and mean postoperative inhosptial time was 11.89±3.91 d. Thirty-day mortality was 1.79% (1/56). At a follow-up of 1 to 77 months, no patients received revascularization. The overall survival at 2 years postoperatively was 94.4%±5.4% in the LIMA-RA group and 86.8%±9.2% in the LIMA-SV group (P=0.299). The patency rate of LIMA was 100.0%. The overall patency rate of RA or SV grafts at 2 years postoperatively was 90.3%±5.3% or 86.7%±6.3% with no statistical difference (P=0.265). ConclusionMIDCAB with LIMA-RA or LIMA-SV Y-composite grafts is a safe and an effective procedure with favorable early and mid-term outcomes for patients with multiple vessel disease. LIMA-SV composite graft can be used as an alternative graft for patient whose RA is not possible or advisable.
Objective To study the anatomical basis of micro transverse flap pedicled with the superfical palmar branch of radial artery from the palmar wrist for using this free flap to repair soft tissue defect of the finger. Methods Thirty-eight fresh upper limb specimens (22 males and 16 females; aged 26-72 years with an average of 36 years; at left and right sides in 19 limbs respectively) were dissected and observed under operating microscope. Two specimens were made into casting mould of artery with bones, and 2 specimens were injected with red emulsion in radial artery. Thirty-four specimens were injected with 1% gentian violet solution in the superfical palmar branch of the radial artery. A transverse oval flap in the palmar wrist was designed, the axis of the flap was the distal palmar crease. The origin, distribution, and anastomosis of the superfical palmar branch of the radial artery were observed. Results The superficial palmar branch of the radial artery was constantly existed, it usually arises from the main trunk of the radial artery, 1.09-3.60 cm to proximal styloid process of radius. There were about 2-5 branches between the origin and the tubercle of scaphoid bone. The origin diameter was 1.00-3.00 mm, and the distal diameter at the styloid process of radius was 1.00-2.90 mm. The venous return of flap passed through 2 routes, and the innervations of the flap mainly from the palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve. The area of the flap was 4 cm × 2 cm-6 cm × 2 cm. Conclusion The origin and courses of the superficial palmar branch of the radial artery is constant, and its diameter is similar to that of the digital artery. A transverse oval flap pedicled with the superfical palmar branch of radial artery in the palmar wrist can be designed to repair defects of the finger.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of total arterial off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) using a left internal thoracic artery (LITA) combined with bilateral radial arteries (RAs). MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients with severe multi-vessel coronary artery disease who underwent total arterial OPCABG with a LITA and bilateral RAs at Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital from November 2020 to April 2023. Results A total of 24 patients were included, comprising 23 males and 1 female, with a mean age of (53.63±4.33) years. The New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was Ⅱ to Ⅲ. The mean number of distal anastomoses was 3.17±0.38. A Y-graft was constructed in 12 patients and sequential grafting was performed in 4 patients. Concomitant procedures included coronary endarterectomy in 1 patient, intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) implantation in 10 patients, and thymoma resection in 1 patient. The mean operative time was (308.13±30.39) min, mechanical ventilation time was (15.42±7.42) h, ICU stay was (46.08±27.32) h, and postoperative hospital stay was (11.71±1.90) d. There were no in-hospital deaths. Postoperative complications included one patient of acute renal failure and one patient of cerebral infarction. Pre-discharge color Doppler echocardiography revealed that the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was significantly smaller than before surgery (P<0.05), while the left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening were significantly higher (P<0.05). Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed that all arterial grafts were patent. During a mean follow-up of (14.58±8.75) months, no patients experienced angina recurrence or mortality. Repeat coronary CTA or angiography in 16 patients one year postoperatively confirmed that all arterial grafts remained patent. Conclusion Total arterial OPCABG using a LITA and bilateral RAs is a safe and effective treatment for patients with severe multi-vessel coronary artery disease. For high-risk patients, intraoperative IABP support is recommended.
The radial artery pulse wave contains a wealth of physiological and pathological information about the human body, and non-invasive studies of the radial artery pulse wave can assess arterial vascular elasticity in different age groups.The piezoelectric pulse wave transducers were used to non-invasively acquire radial artery pulse waves at different contact pressures in young and middle-aged and elderly populations. The radial artery waveforms were decomposed using a triangular blood flow model fitting method to obtain forward and reflected waves and calculate reflection parameters. Finally a correlation analysis and regression analysis of the contact pressure Psensor with the reflection parameters was carried out. The results showed that the reflection parameters RM, RI and Rd had a strong negative correlation with Psensor in both types of subjects, and the correlation coefficients and slopes of the regression curves were significantly different between the two types of subjects (P<0.05). Based on the results of this study, excessive contact pressure on the transducer should be avoided when detecting radial artery reflection waves in clinical practice. The results also show that the magnitude of the slope of the regression curve between the reflection parameters and the transducer contact pressure may be a potentially useful indicator for quantifying the elastic properties of the vessel.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of endoscopic radial artery harvesting for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). MethodsDatabases including The Cochrane Library (Issue2, 2015), PubMed, EMbase, CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP were searched electronically from inception to August 2015 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies about endoscopic radial artery harvesting technique versus traditional incision technique for CABG. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 12 studies involving 1359 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that no significant differences were found between the two groups in perioperative mortality (OR=0.66, 95%CI 0.17 to 2.57, P=0.55), the incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction (OR=0.78, 95%CI 0.30 to 2.06, P=0.62), vascular graft patency rate (OR=1.40, 95%CI 0.80 to 2.45, P=0.24) and the incidence of wound infection (OR=0.59, 95%CI 0.33 to 1.07, P=0.08). The endoscopic group showed significantly lower incidence of hematoma formation (OR=0.39, 95%CI 0.20 to 0.74, P=0.004) and paresthesia (OR=0.44, 95%CI 0.22 to 0.88, P=0.02) than that of the incision group. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that, compared with the incision technique, the endoscopic radial artery harvesting could significantly reduce the incidence of hematoma formation and paresthesia in patients underwent CABG. Due to the limited quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusions still need to be verified by carrying out more high-quality studies.