Abstract
To the Editor: —In an editorial (The Journal, September 29, p. 114) you comment on the present status of blood transfusion. After reviewing some of the work showing the disadvantages of the citrate method of transfusion, you commend very heartily whole blood transfusion. This commendation appears to be in keeping with results of physiologic and clinical investigations, but it is difficult to understand your position with regard to direct transfusion, in which the blood is directly conveyed from the artery of the donor to the vein of the recipient. The obvious objections to blood vascular suturing in transfusion are the technical difficulties and the rather prolonged incisions necessary to expose the vessels. These objections do not obtain when a short jointed cannula, such as the Bernheim cannula, is used. In a communication in the Archives of Surgery (September, 1923, pp. 466-468) I have reported fifty-four consecutive cases, in which this
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have