Single mitral valve replacement with the Björk-Shiley tilting disc prosthesis was performed in 100 consecutive patients between March 1971 and December 1973. The hospital mortality was 13% and the late mortality was 6%. 74 of the patients were followed for periods ranging between 12 and 46 months (mean follow-up: 24 months): clinical improvement was noted in 92%. The incidence of postoperative embolism, including 1 case of prosthesis thrombosis, was 6.7%, and all cases occurred within the first 9 months after surgery. 6 patients required reoperation because of prosthesis dysfunction due to thrombosis (1 patient), leakage (3), and late disc entrapment (2).

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Plasma levels of glucose and insulin during deep hypothermia with varying degrees of hemodilution in dogs.

The variations of plasma glucose and insulin levels were studied during the course of deep hypothermia with cardiocirculatory arrest of 60 minutes in 3 experimental groups of dogs using a pump mixture of homologous blood and Ringer's lactate solution at 33%, 50%, and 100% hemodilution. Insulin levels decreased in all groups during the cooling period and remained stable throughout the rest of the experiments, showing a slight significant increase only at the end of rewarming after a temperature of 30 degrees C was reached. Glucose levels reacted similarly except during rewarming, where an important increase in glucose concentration greatly preceded the rise in insulin. We stress the importance of this dissociation in view of the possible clinical implications that may exist.

Animals↗