Authors:
Publish Date: 1990/03/01
Volume: 4, Issue: 3, Pages: 156-161
Abstract
A total of 106 patients participated in a clinical investigation todetermine the incidence and etiology of pulmonary complications followingmyocardial revascularization with the internal mammary artery graft 39patients group I undergoing valve replacement or myocardialrevascularization with vein grafts served as control The mammary arterywas used for revascularization in the remaining patients The pleura wasopened during the dissection of the mammary graft in 34 patients groupII but was left intact during harvesting of the internal mammary arteryin 33 patients group III Inspiration and expiration chest Xrays wereobtained during the first 3 months of convalescence to determine thepresence of pleural fluid the position of the left hemidiaphragm and toasses diaphragmatic movement Pleural effusions left lowerlobeatelectasis and elevation of the left hemidiaphragm were observed in allgroups after operation but were more commonly observed in those patientsundergoing revascularization with the mammary artery graft Postoperativechest Xrays just prior to discharge from hospital were normal in 69 ofthe control group only 9 of patients in group II who had pleurotomyduring mammary artery dissection and 42 of group III By 3 monthshowever 95 of patients in groups I and II had normal chest Xrayswhereas 53 of patients in group II had persistent loss of leftlung volumerelated to the presence of leftlowerlobe atelectasis left pleuraleffusions and organization of the postoperative hemothoraxABSTRACTTRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
Keywords: