Abstract
Objectives:Objective measures of morbidity will be required to establish the radial artery (RA) as a viable long term alternative to saphenous vein. The RA is the dominant arterial supply to the thenar musculature. We hypothesised that RA harvest should decrease O-2 saturation and thenar muscle power. Methods: RA was harvested from non-dominant (ND) limbs only (left n = 58, right n = 21). Oximeter values of O-2 Saturation were taken from the thumb of the dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) limb pre and post operatively. A syringe filled with 25 cc of air is emptied against a one way valve connected to a pressure generator MX 100 by MEDEX, Inc, Ohio, USA. Three measures of thenar flexor power (TFP) were taken and mean values obtained in the ND and D limbs. Results: O-2 saturation ranged from 92 to 98% in the thumb of the ND limbs 24 h post RA harvest. The values for TFP (mean +/- SD) were 1246 +/- 246 mmHg (ND) and 1240 +/- 258 mmHg (D) pre-operatively and 1216 +/- 250 (ND) and 1259 +/- 233 (D) post operatively. The changes in TFP between the ND and D limbs (37.0 +/- 60.6 ND and 1.86 +/- 65.9 D) were significant for the D against the ND limb (P < 0.001). This reduction in TFP for the harvested limb was also found when considering handedness (28.0 +/- 24.2 and 40.3 +/- 69.2 for the left and right handed patients respectively). Conclusion: Our findings confirm the hypothesis that there are objective differences in TFP pre and post RA harvest at 3 months. Further studies are required to assess the clinical significance and persistence of the loss of TFP. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.