[A successful prolonged resuscitation following mitral valve replacement--a case report]

Based on a case report a successful resuscitation lasting 2 hours and 28 minutes is described and discussed. This case report demonstrates that particularly with cardiosurgical patients the recently fixed "Do not resuscitate order" is hardly to be taken into account. If the absolute criteria for breaking off the resuscitative measures are not present, resuscitation should be continued regardless of its duration.