For more than 13 years we have been treating a selected group of coronary patients with one particular operation.1 This operation was devised and adopted as a result of animal experiments, in which it gave complete protection to the animals following the ligation of a main coronary artery; the same ligation without the operation resulted in a mortality of 50%. We believe that this operation, known as cardiopexy, has a definite value, and we now present our experience with 57 of these operations. In discussing coronary disease, we are very much aware of the divergence of opinions expressed by various groups studying this problem, and even of the various persons in each group; however, it is generally accepted that angina, coronary insufficieny, and coronary occlusions are all varying degrees of a common condition, namely, myocardial ischemia.
The enormity of the problem of coronary disease is evident in mortality statistics.