On occasion it is used as a free graft from the aorta to a high diagonal branch of the LAD artery. Because it is a muscular artery, it is prone to spasm and therefore is best used to bypass a severely stenotic coronary artery. Its reported 1-year patency is about 90%.133,134 2.1.5. Incisions for Cardiac Access Although the time-honored incision for CABG is a median sternotomy, surgeons have begun to access the heart via several other approaches in an attempt to 1) reduce the traumatic effects often seen with full median sternotomy, 2) Hillis et al 2011 ACCF/AHA CABG Guideline e661 hasten postoperative recovery, and 3) enhance cosmesis. The utility and benefit of these smaller incisions has been evident in subjects undergoing valvular surgery, for which only limited access to the heart is required. The most minimally invasive access incisions for CABG are seen with robotically assisted totally endoscopic CABG. A study showed that totally endoscopic CABG with robotic technology was associated with improved physical health, shorter hospital stay, and a more rapid return to the activities of daily living compared with traditional techniques. At present, direct comparisons of robotically assisted and con- ventional CABG are lacking.135 The use of minimally invasive cardiac access incisions for CABG is limited. The need for adequate exposure of the ascending aorta and all surfaces of the heart to accomplish full revascularization usually precludes the use of minimal access incisions, such as upper sternotomy, lower sternotomy, or anterolateral thoracotomy. Nevertheless, use of limited incisions may increase in the future with the advent of hybrid strategies that use a direct surgical approach (usually for grafting the LAD artery through a small parasternal incision) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the other diseased coronary arteries. 