ide, Q , the P f this 2) sele A 67-year-old diabetic man with a pacemaker for symptomatic bradycardia underwent cardiac catheterization for unstable angina, 19 years after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. There were bilateral pedicled internal mammary grafts—from the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) to the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), and from the right internal mamma...

OBJECTIVE Left internal mammary artery harvesting through a mini-thoracotomy makes gaining the proximal portion of this vessel very difficult and exposes the patient to the risk of chest wall trauma due to excessive spreading of the ribs. The adoption of video thoracoscopic assistance can give several advantages to the procedure. METHODS With the patient in a 30 degrees left-side-up thoracoto...

Microsurgeons currently employ the internal mammary artery and vein as recipient vessels for microvascular reconstruction of the breast with increasing frequency. Recent reports have demonstrated that the perforating branches of the internal mammary artery and vein can also be used as recipient vessels. The purpose of the following cadaver study was to determine the location and diameter of the...

Left internal mammary artery grafting is commonly used in elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery. We report a near-fatal case with graft kinking upon sternal closure due to distended, emphysematous lungs impinging on the mammary graft. After the sternum was closed, the patient suffered a severe hemodynamic deterioration. Surgical examination revealed kinking of his left internal mammary ...

Lymphocytes from lymph nodes obtained at mastectomy in breast cancer patients have been fused with murine nonproducer myeloma cells to obtain human-mouse hybridoma cultures that synthesize human monoclonal antibodies. To date, 52 hybridoma cultures synthesizing either human IgG or human IgM have been obtained from lymph nodes of 13 patients. Ig production was stable in many of these cloned cult...

AIM We describe the development of a highly-invasive, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) variant using serial orthotopic implantation of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer in nude mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS MDA-MB-231 cells expressing red fluorescent protein (RFP) (1×10(7) cells/site) were initially injected subcutaneously in the flank of nude mice. After the subcutaneous tumors grew, they wer...

The internal thoracic (mammary) nerve is formed by contributions from the subclavian plexus and the phrenic nerve. It descends along the internal thoracic artery to the level of the seventh costal cartilage where it is lost. Some of its branches communicate with the intercostal nerves -and are thought to be distributed with these nerves. Others follow perforating and anterior mediastinal arteries.

Internal mammary artery harvesting is an essential part of any coronary artery bypass operation. Totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass graft surgery has become reality in many centers as a safe and effective alternative to conventional surgery in selected patients. Internal mammary artery harvesting is the initial part of the procedure and should be performed equally safely if one wants to ...

A case of vocal cord paralysis following mobilisation of the internal mammary artery is described. Of the various possible mechanisms, the most likely in this case is damage to the vagus nerve in the root of the neck, where it passes close to the origin of the internal mammary artery. Diathermy may have caused the damage, and this may be avoided by using a disposable automatic clip applier on a...