Symptomatic late saphenous vein graft failure in coronary artery bypass surgery

OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery bypass grafting for advanced coronary artery disease is a well-established procedure with excellent long-term results. The issue of saphenous vein graft (SVG) performance and its relation to clinical symptoms and thereby the potential for improvement by using superior grafts are still not fully understood. We aim to estimate the contribution of late SVG failure to the long-term outcome. METHODS: A study population operated between 1997 and 2020, with an internal thoracic artery with a single distal anastomosis and 1, 2 or 3 distal SVG anastomoses, was isolated from the Swedish Web System for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-Based Care in Heart Disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies registry. Data regarding postoperative clinically driven coronary angiography and status of bypass grafts were collected. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 44 951 patients. Clinically driven angiography occurred in 10.1% (9.5–10.8), 7.9% (7.6–8.3) and 7.1% (6.7–7.5), respectively, of patients within 3 years and 23.6% (22.6–24.5), 20.0% (19.5–20.6) and 17.5% (16.9–18.2), respectively, of patients within 10 years after surgery. Excluding the first 3 postoperative years, no failed SVGs were found in >75%, 60% and 45%, respectively, of cases when an angiography was performed in the first 10 years after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the risk of symptomatic graft failure due to vein graft disease during the first 10 years after surgery is in the range of 1–2% for every grafted coronary vessel and provide an estimate for the upper limit of the improvements in results that could be achieved by replacing SVGs with superior grafts.