The optimum arterial cannulation site during open aortic arch repair: is it the axillary artery?

I read with interest the article by Kim and colleagues1 about axillary artery (AA) cannulation in open aortic arch repair. Their propensity-matched, retrospective analysis included 116 patients in each cohort of AA and non-AA cannulation. The primary outcome from the study was early postoperative embolic stroke, whereas the secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and major operative complications. They concluded a lower rate of embolic stroke in axillary cohort (2.6% vs 8.5%, P  = .46), as well as lower in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates (P 
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research