Human Great Saphenous Vein: Uncertainty in Interpretation of Intimal Openings
Received: 24 May 2026 | Revised: 27 Jul 2026 | Accepted: 05 Aug 2026 | Published: 30 Sep 2026
Dreifaldt, M.; Souza, D.S.R.; Loesch, A.; et al. The “no-touch” harvesting technique for vein grafts in coronary artery bypass surgery preserves an intact vasa vasorum. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2011, 141, 145–150.
Loesch, A. Great saphenous vein lumen: Intimal openings. Braz. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2026, 41, e20240382. https://doi.org/10.21470/1678-9741-2024-0382.
Souza, D. A New No-Touch Preparation Technique: Technical notes. Scand. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 1996, 30, 41–44. https://doi.org/10.3109/14017439609107239.
Vasilakis, V.; Dashwood, M.R.; Souza, D.S.R.; et al. Human saphenous vein and coronary bypass surgery: Scanning electron microscopy of conventional and ‘no-touch’ vein grafts. Vasc. Dis. Prev. 2004, 1, 133–139. https://doi.org/10.2174/1567270043405204.
Ahmed, S.R.; Johansson, B.L.; Karlsson, M.G.; et al. Human saphenous vein and coronary bypass surgery: Ultrastructural aspects of conventional and “no-touch” vein graft preparations. Histol. Histopathol. 2004, 19, 421–434.
Loesch, A.; Burnstock, G. The endothelium: Electron immunocytochemistry of vasoactive agents. In Modern Visualisation of the Endothelium; Polak, J.M., Ed.; Harwood Academic Publishers: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1989; pp. 3–44. ISBN: 90-5702-294-X.
Brown, E.N.; Burris, N.S.; Gu, J.; et al. Thinking inside the graft: Applications of optical coherence tomography in coronary artery bypass grafting. J. Biomed. Opt. 2007, 12, 051704. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.2799521.
Stingl, J.; Musil, V.; Pirk, J.; et al. Vasa vasorum of the failed aorto-coronary venous grafts. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 2018, 40, 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2036-y.
Lametschwandtner, A.; Minnich, B.; Kachlik, D.; et al. Three-dimensional arrangement of the vasa vasorum in explanted segments of the aged human great saphenous vein: Scanning electron microscopy and three-dimensional morphometry of vascular corrosion casts. Anat. Rec. A Discov. Mol. Cell. Evol. Biol. 2004, 281, 1372–1382. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.a.20098.
Kachlík, D.; Lametschwandtner, A.; Rejmontová, J.; et al. Vasa vasorum of the human great saphenous vein. Surg. Radiol. Anat. 2003, 24, 377–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-002-0067-9.
Fernandez-Alfonso, M.S.; Souza, D.S.R.; Dreifaldt, M.; et al. Commentary: Perivascular fat and improved vein graft patency in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Curr. Vasc. Pharmacol. 2016, 14, 308–312. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570161114666160513150444.
Loesch, A. Vasa vasorum in saphenous vein for CABG: A review of morphological characteristics. Braz. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2023, 38, e20230045. https://doi.org/10.21470/1678-9741-2023-0045.
Loesch, A.; Dashwood, M.R. A brief comment on vasa vasorum of human saphenous vein: Relevance for coronary artery bypass surgery. Braz. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2021, 36, 106–111. https://doi.org/10.21470/1678-9741-2020-0066.
Kopjar, T.; Dashwood, M.R. Endoscopic versus ‘‘no-touch’’ saphenous vein harvesting for coronary artery bypass grafting: A trade-off between wound healing and graft patency. Angiology 2016, 67, 121–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003319715584126.
McCarthy, C.G.; Aalkjær, C.; Bagher, P.; et al. Guidelines for evaluating endothelial function in vascular tissue. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 2026, 330, H1600–H1672. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00656.2025.
Sobrevia, L. Endothelial physiology in metabolic diseases: From cells to patients. J. Physiol. 2026, 604, 4085–4091. https://doi.org/10.1113/JP290342.
Pimentel, M.D.; Lobo Filho, J.G.; Lobo Filho, H.G. Effect of preservation solution and distension pressure on saphenous vein’s endothelium. Interact. Cardiovasc. Thorac. Surg. 2022, 35, ivac124. https://doi.org/10.1093/icvts/ivac124.
Pimentel, M.D.; Lobo Filho, H.G.; Lobo Filho, J.G. Ultrastructural analysis of the saphenous vein endothelium in a patient with proinflammatory comorbidities undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Case Rep. Med. 2026, 2026, 9914323. https://doi.org/10.1155/carm/9914323.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.