A Brief Comment on Vasa Vasorum of Human Saphenous Vein: relevance for Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Abstract

The importance of the vasa vasorum and blood supply to the wall of human saphenous vein (hSV) used for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is briefly discussed. This is in the context of the possible physical link of the vasa vasorum connecting with the lumen of hSV and the anti-ischaemic impact of this microvessel network in the hSV used for CABG.

On vasa vasorum: A history of advances in understanding the vessels of vessels

“…Vasa vasorum in veins also lie within the adventitia and penetrate the media in close proximity to the lumen ( 134 ). The presence and integrity of the vasa vasorum are thought to be important for vein graft patency ( 135 , 136 ). Saphenous vein graft harvest via a “no-touch” technique presumably protects the adventitia, preserves vasa vasorum endothelial function, and is considered to be superior to the conventional technique, which is less invasive and therefore imposes reduced donor site morbidity, but is more damaging to the harvested vessel itself in that it strips away the adventitia, thus removing most of the vasa vasorum ( 134 ).…”