Hyperbasophilia following heart valve xenograft implantation

Circulating basophil and eosinophil leukocytes were counted daily in the blood of 76 patients following cardiac surgery. Typical response to operative stress was a sudden drop in basophil counts, followed by a gradual increase, exceeding preoperative values 2-3 weeks postoperatively. Basophil counts during this period of 'postoperative basophilia' remained below 50 per mm3. Such typical responses have been observed after various closed and open heart procedures, including implantation of glutaraldehyde treated heart valve xenografts. Following formation treated xenograft implantation, however, unusually high basophil counts were observed, exceeding 100 per mm3 in three patients. Since pronounced basophilia is observed after parenteral administration of antigens, the results are interpreted as a failure of formalin treatment to deantigenize xenogeneic tissues, whereas glutaraldehyde treated xenografts are free of antigen character.