[Reoperations in patients with heart valve prosthesis]

The results of operations performed for the second time on 193 patients with heart valve prostheses are analysed. Prosthesis endocarditis and thrombosis of the prosthesis are the most severe complications of valve replacement. An effective scheme for the performance of repeated operations in these patients is suggested, which was developed at the Bakulev Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, USSR AMS. The study makes it possible to conclude that the risk of such operations is fully justified.