SAPHENOUS-VEIN CORONARY-ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT ANEURYSM DEMONSTRATED BY ELECTRON-BEAM CT

Despite several million coronary artery bypass grafting procedures, aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms of saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts (SVCABG) have been presumed to be rare; this assumption is based on the paucity of case reports in the literature. We present a case report of a SVCABG aneurysm demonstrated by electron beam CT as well as images of two similar cases identified utilizing this modality. The ability of electron beam CT to eliminate cardiac motion results in superior cardiac anatomic resolution; this includes visualization of native coronary arteries and coronary artery bypass grafts. Although the SVCABG aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm may remain uncommon, the elimination of cardiac motion by advancing CT technology may result in a more frequent identification of this abnormality.