Bilateral internal mammary artery grafting

The superiority of the left internal mammary artery over the saphenous vein graft led many surgeons to adopt bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) as a good surgical option for further improving late outcome of patients undergoing myocardial revascularization. However, routine use of BIMA was limited by some potential drawbacks: the increase of deep sternal wound problems, especially in diabetic patients; the shortness of right internal mammary artery (RIMA), which limited its utilization as an in situ graft; the low patency rate if grafted to the right coronary artery; and the longer operative time. The skeletonization of the internal mammary artery along with a better glucose control in diabetic patients significantly reduced the incidence of deep sternal problems. Another problem to solve was finding the optimal target of the RIMA. The general consensus is that RIMA appears to be more efficient if grafted to the lateral wall. The Y or T configuration of double mammary arteries could be more helpful to reach the lateral target vessels. Finally, recent reports clearly demonstrate the superiority of BIMA over single internal mammary artery in terms of survival or quality of life. The latter finding has also been reported in diabetic patients.