[Operative and postoperative neurological complications in heart surgery]

Intraoperative and postoperative neurologic complications in cardiosurgical patients refer to grave cerebral affections which aggravate markedly the operative issue and prognosis for patients' life. In 525 operations on the heart and major vessels neurologic complications were noted in 47 patients. In 21 of them death was directly caused by these complications. The character of cerebral lesions (brain hypoxia, acute disorders in the cerebral circulation) and their frequency were conditioned by the kind of operative interventions and characteristic features of the cardiovascular pathology. Routine prophylactic measures and their results are described.