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Endoscopes designed to be introduced through a surgically created subcutaneous tunnel, facilitating vein harvesting using minimally invasive surgical techniques. These devices are typically a dedicated small-diameter (e.g., 5.5 mm) rigid endoscope with a video camera at its distal end. Vessel-harvesting endoscopes are mainly components of vein-harvesting kits used to obtain grafts for subsequent cardiac surgery; the endoscopes are used for dissection and cauterization of the saphenous vein and arteries (e.g., radial, internal mammary) and their corresponding branches by facilitating the introduction of appropriate instruments for vessel dissection, ligation, and retraction.
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