Original scientific paper
B-mode and Color Doppler Ultrasound of the Forearm Arteries in the Preoperative Screening Prior to Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Renata Huzjan
Boris Brkljačić
Diana Delić-Brkljačić
Bojan Biočina
Željko Sutlić
Abstract
The objective of this paper was to establish the normal findings of B-mode and color
Doppler ultrasound of the forearm arteries in candidates for coronary artery bypass
grafting with radial artery graft. Examination of radial and ulnar arteries was performed
in 127 patients. The vessel diameters and peak systolic velocities were measured
and the presence of atherosclerotic changes, calcifications and anatomical variants was
assessed. Radial artery proved to be dominant forearm artery with non-significant sideto-
side asymmetry. The luminal changes were present in 30% of the patients. Ulnar arteries
were more prone to these changes than radial arteries (28.4% vs. 24.4%). The anatomical
variants found included ulnar artery hypoplasia in 3.9% of patients and high
brachial artery bifurcation in 2.4% of patients. No cases of high-grade stenosis or occlusion
were found. The results of the present study indicate that B-mode and color Doppler
are valuable methods for preoperative screening as they enable morphological and
functional evaluation of the forearm circulation.
Keywords
ultrasound; color Doppler; radial artery; ulnar artery; coronary artery bypass grafting
Hrčak ID:
27989
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2004.
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