Abdominal Wall Necrosis After Harvest of Both Internal Thoracic and Inferior Epigastric Arteries

Bilateral harvest of ITAs and IEAs results in a moderate risk of clinically significant abdominal wall necrosis. The extent of tissue loss may involve skin, muscle, and fascia, but the peritoneum and posterior rectus sheath remained intact in both affected patients in this series. These data may be most valuable to those who contemplate an abdominal operation in a patient who has had one or more of their ITAs or IEAs taken.