Extrapleural harvesting of the internal thoracic artery - impact on early postoperative results and pulmonary function.

The internal thoracic artery (ITA) has proven to be the best graft for surgical myocardial revascularization, especially in the configuration left ITA (LITA) to the anterior descending branch of left coronary artery (LAD). Its harvesting is usually accompanied by pleurotomy, followed by drainage tube placement into the pleural cavity, using the so called intrapleural method. Extrapleural technique for LITA harvesting is also practiced in many cardiac surgery centers and with this technique the pleura is left intact.