Abstract: Objective To explore the patency of bridge vessels in patients after coronary artery transplantation, and to provide reference for the selection of clinical bridge vessels. Methods Data of 32 patients underwent coronary angiography after coronary artery bypass grafting were selected and analyzed retrospectively. The overall usage and patency of the great saphenous vein graft (SVG), the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) and the radial artery (RA) were analyzed. The patency of the near future (5 years), the medium term (5-10 years) and long term (>10 years) were compared between the three kinds of bridging vascular vessels. The RA occlusion was analyzed. Results The total number of bridge vessels used in 32 patients was 85, only 1 case used right internal mammary artery (RIMA), the others used SVG, LIMA and RA, in which 48, 23 and 13 branches were used respectively. The patency rates of SVG, LIMA and RA were 25% (12/48), 73.91% (17/23) and 69.23(9/13) respectively. The recent and medium-term patency rates of all bridge vessels showed a decreasing trend, in which the recent patency rate of SVG was significantly higher than that in LIMA, the intermediate patency rates of LIMA and SVG were higher than that of RA, and the long-term patency rate of RA was significantly higher than that of LIMA and SVG. There was severe stenosis (＞90%) or occlusion in the proximal segment of anastomosis in the 9 radial arteries unobstructed. Conclusion The utilization rate of RA is still low, and the overall patency rate of RA is superior to the SVG. RA can be used as the second optimal bridge vessel. The patient selection and RA evaluation should be done before applying RA.The proximal stenosis degree of target vessel significantly affects the long-term patency of RA.

Key words: coronary artery disease, coronary occlusion, coronary artery transplantation, radial artery, great saphenous vein, left internal mammary artery；patency