Correlations between Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis and Histopathologic Findings of Radial Artery.

Lee, Won Jai; Lee, Seung Jong; Pae, Jae Young; Ryu, Dae Hyun; Park, Beyoung Yun; Rah, Dong Kyun

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons 2005;32(5):619-624.
Published online September 1, 2005.

Correlations between Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis and Histopathologic Findings of Radial Artery.

Won Jai Lee, Seung Jong Lee, Jae Young Pae, Dae Hyun Ryu, Beyoung Yun Park, Dong Kyun Rah

Institute for Human Tissue Restoration, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. dkrah@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr

Abstract

Patency of the radial artery plays an important role in the survival of radial forearm fasciocutaneous free flap and artery conduit of coronary artery bypass graft procedure. Even though Allens' test has been used for evaluating the patency of radial artery, the studies on the correlations between risk factors for atherosclerosis and histopathologic findings of radial arteries are rare, until now. Therefore, the authors investigated the correlations between these two factors, and tried to estimate the feasibility of the radial artery in high-risk groups for artherosclerosis. The risk factors for atherosclerosis and lipid profiles were investigated in 38 patients by history taking, physical examinations and blood analysis. And 38 cases of segments of vessel were harvested during the elevation of the flap. The degrees of vessel medial sclerosis were estimated by R values(by Kobayashi and colleagues) that is the median value between the thickness of the intima and that of the media. The measured mean R value was 0.210+/-0.05. Thirty one cases belonged to Grade I(R<0.25), 7 cases belong to Grade II(0.25

Keywords: Radial artery; Histopathology; Arthrosclerosis; Risk factor