Note 24 — Chapter XXIX · SURGICAL DISEASES OF THE HEART AND VASCULAR SYSTEM.
Reading edition
Suture of Heart Wounds.—Stewart has tabulated 60 cases of suture of the heart reported up to May, 1904, with a remarkably high recovery rate of 38 per cent. (Amer. Jour. Med. Sci., October, 1904). Of the 60 cases 55 were stab wounds and 5 were gunshot wounds, 2 of the latter recovering. In 4 of the cases the coronary artery was injured, and only 1 of these recovered. The injury occurred through a puncture while suturing the heart, and an extra suture was necessary in order to control it. Of the 60 cases the left ventricle was wounded thirty times, with 30 recoveries. The right ventricle was wounded 21 times, with 7 recoveries. The operation has only been practised for about ten years. The results reported certainly justify its performance in all cases of this kind.