The no-touch saphenous vein for CABG maintains a patency after 16 years comparable to the left internal thoracic artery. A Randomized Trial [1]
The authors conducted a randomized prospective study comparing 3 methods of SVG harvesting in 156 patients. The 3 methods compared were as follows: Conventional (C)--stripped and distended veins; Intermediate (IM)--stripped but not distended veins; and, No Touch (NT)--neither stripped nor distended but harvested on a pedicle. In comparing the C (n=27) and NT (n=27) groups that were available at a mean of 16 years, crude SVG patency was 64% in C vs. 83% in NT (p=0.03). The latter was comparable to the observed LIMA patency, 88%.