Preparation of the Internal Mammary Artery for Coronary Bypass Surgery

Preparation of the internal mammary artery (IMA) for coronary bypass grafting is depicted. It is felt that this technique offers a simple, safe method for providing an IMA of maximum caliber and flow that allows not only end-to-side but sequential IMA grafting to a coronary artery. Use of this technique prepares the mammary artery to be used for both in situ and free grafting procedures to allow maximum utilization of the IMA as a superior conduit. The technique described has been used in several thousand operations.