Postoperative Venous Thrombosis: Frequency and Risk Factors in Patients Undergoing Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Objective: In this study, we investigated whether there was any difference between the extremity that was used for harvesting saphenous vein and the contralateral one with regard to frequency of venous thrombosis (VT) and the risk factors in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure. Material and Methods: This prospective study included 102 patients who underwent isolated CABG operation. Frequency of VT was investigated in extremity that was used for harvesting saphenous vein and the contralateral one. A total of 102 patients (86 males and 16 females; mean age: 63 ± 9.99 years, ranging between 39 - 79 years) underwent CABG operation in our clinic between July 2013 and December 2014. The patients were examined with Doppler ultrasonography on postoperative day 5 to investigate development of VT. Results: VT was detected in the extremity from which saphenous vein was harvested in 4 (3.92%) of 102 patients. No VT was detected in contralateral extremities. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of VT between the extremity from which saphenous vein is harvested and the contralateral extremity (p>0.05). In 24 (23.5%) patients, acute thrombosis was detected at great saphenous vein (GSV) stump in the saphenous vein-harvested extremity, and it was statistically significant (p<0.001). Male sex, body mass index and smoking were statistically significant parametes (p <0.05). Conclusion: In CABG patients, thrombosis showed statistically significant associations with being male, BMI, and being a smoker. We recommend the use of color venous Doppler USG as a non-invasive test in the postoperative period since subclinical VT may develop in the CABG patients.