Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting is a safe and least invasive procedure. It uses video camera and endoscopes to monitor the removal of the vein harvest. During a bypass surgery, the healthy blood vessel is used to bypass a blocked or a damaged artery. Today Endoscopic Vein Harvesting EVH is becoming increasing popular and is used during a coronary bypass surgery.
The EVH procedure does not make a large incision (15-40cm) like the traditional vessel harvesting. Here, the incision made is just about 2.5 cm. The endoscope with the video camera is used to remove the saphenous vein in the leg that is to be harvested. The surgeon can remove it with least stress, and incision. The procedure is least traumatic for the patient with lesser tissue scarring. Besides chances of infection and complications during post-operative wound healing are also minimal.
EVH was first launched in 1997. India being a fast learner, offering advanced medial technology is soon to apply this new technique. The first endoscopic vein harvesting was recently conducted in Mumbai and the rest of the states are following too. With faster recovery and least complication after a bypass surgery, endoscopic technique will be practiced on a larger scale in India, considering the number of bypass surgeries needed in the country. However, the government has to offer tax rebates on the specialized advanced equipment to make it possible to extend its use to benefit the common man.