Accelerated "atherosclerosis". A morphologic study of 97 saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts

Intimal thickening of uncertain cause has been noted in saphenous vein bypass grafts. To study the development of these changes, 97 vein grafts in 55 autopsied patients were examined by angiography and histology. Significant alterations in the grafts were confined to the intima and included thin lay...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Circulation (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 1977-01, Vol.55 (1), p.163-169
Main Authors: Bulkley, B H, Hutchins, G M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Arteriosclerosis - pathology
Coronary Artery Bypass
Female
Humans
Male
Microscopy, Electron
Middle Aged
Postoperative Complications - pathology
Saphenous Vein - pathology
Saphenous Vein - transplantation
Thrombosis - pathology
Transplantation, Autologous
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Intimal thickening of uncertain cause has been noted in saphenous vein bypass grafts. To study the development of these changes, 97 vein grafts in 55 autopsied patients were examined by angiography and histology. Significant alterations in the grafts were confined to the intima and included thin layers of circumferential thrombus, concentric fibrous plaque and occlusive thrombus with organization. Circumferential nonocclusive intimal thrombus was present in 36 (73%) postoperative patent grafts. Concentric fibrous plaque, found in all twelve patent late grafts, showed changes characteristic of atheromata, including smooth muscle and foam cells. Intimal fibroelastosis was absent in the grafts, indicating that concentric plaque is not a simple response to increased pressure, or an "arterialization" of the vein. The findings suggest that early appearing concentric intimal thrombus is converted into fibrous plaque, and that this early thrombus is a factor in the development of acclereated "atherosclerosis" in saphenous vein bypass grafts.
ISSN:0009-7322
1524-4539
DOI:10.1161/01.cir.55.1.163