This excellent volume contains a report of procedures, papers, and discussion at the Conference on Prosthetic Valves for Cardiac Surgery, held at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, on Sept. 9 and 10, 1960. This conference brought together more than 200 participants and guests who represented active medical workers, as well as research teams in industry who were interested in pooling their knowledge in this expanding field.
The general topics covered were physiology of normal valve function; hydraulics of blood flow; desirable physical characteristics of artificial valves; methods of molding, bonding, and altering surfaces of fabrics; effects of design on fatigue; total valve and monocusp replacements; in vivo problems of thrombosis, fibrosis, and immobility; technical problems of insertion; and the use of hypothermia and coronary perfusion during the application of the materials to patients. The essential elements in each of the 49 presentations have been extracted and presented in a precise