Anticoagulant Protection in Surgery^[*]

Summary

An evaluation has been made as to whether it is possible to perform operations on patients with tumors of the lungs and with mitral stenosis when the prothrombin-proconvertin-level is reduced by the use of dicumarol. It has been shown that these operations may be performed without the risk of uncontrollable bleedings when prothrombin and proconvertin are reduced to a therapeutic effective level. The prophylaxis seems to protect the patients against the uncontrollable risk of postoperative thromboembolic accidents. The conditions necessary for performing these operations are: the daily control of the P-P.-level, a reliable method for the determination of prothrombin and proconvertin, a meticulous operative hemostasis and the availability of vitamin Kı.

^* This investigation was aided by grants from P. Carl Petersen Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark.

• References

• 1 Müllertz S, and Storm O. Anticoagulant therapy with dicumarol maintained during major surgery. Circulation 10: 213 1954;
• 2 Storm O, and Tybjaerg Hansen A. Mitral commissurotomy performed during anticoagulant prophylaxis with dicumarol. Circulation 12: 981 1955;