Hypertension and tachycardia during endoscopic radial artery harvesting in two patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting]

Hypertension and tachycardia occurred during endoscopic radial artery harvesting in two patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Despite anesthesia maintained with moderate doses of fentanyl and isoflurane, hypertension and tachycardia occurred 10-15 min after tourniquet application and graft harvesting procedure. Tourniquet pain or direct stimulation to radial nerve by CO2 insufflation might be the causes. Although endoscopic radial artery harvesting is reported excellent for cosmetics with low incidence of complications such as infection and hematoma, hemodynamic change can occur during harvesting. Careful evaluation and management of hemodynamic changes should be exercised during this procedure in the patient with unstable angina and low cardiac function.