Lateral costal artery: clinical importance of an accessory thoracic artery

Abstract The lateral costal artery has sometimes been identified as the culprit for the "steal phenomenon" after coronary artery bypass grafting, besides being occasionally used for myocardial revascularization. Its branches make anastomoses with the internal thoracic artery through lateral intercostal arteries. We aim to report, on three cases, the clinical significance of a well-developed lateral costal artery after coronary artery bypass grafting. Two out of three patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery in our center between June 2010 and August 2017, applied to us with stable angina pectoris, while the third one was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome after applying to the emergency department. In coronary cineangiography, in all three cases, a well-developed accessory vessel arising from the proximal 2.5 cm segment of the left internal thoracic artery coursed as far as the 6th rib was detected, and it was confirmed to be the lateral costal artery. A stable angina pectoris in two of the patients was thought to be the result of steal phenomenon caused by the well-developed lateral costal artery. In the two cases with stable angina pectoris the lateral costal artery was obliterated via coil embolization. In the other case with the proximal left anterior descending artery stenosis, before percutaneous coronary intervention, the lateral costal artery was obliterated via coil embolization and the occluded subclavian artery was stented. Routine visualization in cineangiography and satisfactory surgical exploration of the left internal thoracic artery could be very helpful to identify any possible accessory branch of the left internal thoracic artery like the lateral costal artery.

Síndrome coronariana aguda como apresentação atípica do fenômeno de roubo subclávio / Acute coronary syndrome as an atypical presentation of the phenomenon of subclavian steal

Roubo coronariano da subclávia (RCS) é um fenômeno raro que ocorre em pacientes submetidos a cirurgia de revascularização miocárdica com enxerto de artéria torácica interna esquerda (ATIE) e que causa estenose da artéria subclávia ipsilateral e proximal à origem da ATIE. Relatamos o caso de um paciente masculino de 65 anos que apresentou quadro atípico de síndrome do RCS, manifestando-se como síndrome coronariana aguda no pós-operatório de cirurgia vascular (AU)

Coronary subclavian steal (CSS) is a rare phenomenon that occurs in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery using the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) causing stenosis of the ipsilateral subclavian artery proximal to the origin of the LITA. We report the case of a 65-year-old male patient who presented with atypical CSS syndrome, manifesting as acute coronary syndrome after vascular surgery (AU)

Perioperative intra‑aortic balloon counterpulsation in a patient with myocardium at risk undergoing urgent noncardiac surgery.

We are presenting the case of a 76‑year‑old female scheduled for major abdominal surgery. Her past medical history was remarkable for a three‑vessel coronary artery disease, with a severely impaired left ventricular function. She had already undergone complex coronary artery bypass surgery. Currently, she presented with the rare constellation of a hemodynamic relevant and interventionally intractable stenosis of the left subclavian artery proximal to a crucial coronary bypass from left internal mammary artery to the left anterior descending. To protect this patient from perioperative myocardial infarction, an intra‑aortic balloon pump was successfully used.