HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sirlak, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Sirlak, M. Related Collections Cardiac - other Related Article

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2004;127:1228
© 2004 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Letter to the editor

Reply to the Editor

Mustafa rlak

Ankara University School of Medicine, Heart Center, Ankara, Turkey

Reply to the Editor:

Despite the use of filters with a pore size of 20 µm, the combined use of intraoperative autotransfusion and microfibrillar collagen hemostats creates a potential risk for embolization.¹ It has been shown that this risk can be significantly reduced by use of appropriate currently available blood transfusion filters.² Despite this reduction, we share the concern of Dr Robicsek that this substance could pass through different blood-collecting circuits, which could lead to organ damage by either direct or induced embolization, even with the use of commercially available filters.³ For this reason we applied microfibrillar collagen after heparin was neutralized by protamine, and it was not reintroduced into the patient circulation. Moreover, as we stressed in the Methods section, shed mediastinal blood was not transfused into any patient.

	References

Top References

 

1. Niebauer GW, Oz MC, Goldschmidt M, Lemole G. Simultaneous use of microfibrillar collagen hemostat and blood saving devices in a canine kidney perfusion model. Ann Thorac Surg. 1989;48:523–527[Abstract/Free Full Text]
   
2. Orr MD, Ferdman AG, Maresh JG. Removal of Avitene microfibrillar collagen hemostat by use of suitable transfusion filters. Ann Thorac Surg. 1994;57:1007–1011[Abstract/Free Full Text]
   
3. Robicsek F, Duncan GD, Born GV, Wilkinson HA, Masters TN, McClure M. Inherent dangers of simultaneous application of microfibrillar collagen hemostat and blood-saving devices. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1986;92:766–770[Abstract]
   

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sirlak, M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Sirlak, M. Related Collections Cardiac - other Related Article