The Repaired Heart

Repair of the lacerated heart has become fairly common. The incidence and success of this operation have recently been summarized by Davenport.¹Most cases that terminate successfully are uncomplicated, and the ability of the repaired heart subsequently to carry on during acute illnesses or to meet the demands of an active life has seldom been reported. In the case here reported, the heart, in which a large laceration had been sutured, was called on in three weeks to endure the added strain of a severe bronchopneumonia. REPORT OF CASE A. L., a negro laborer, aged 24, was stabbed just inside the left nipple with a long bladed pocket knift, on the evening of July 23, 1925. He was seen in the emergency room of the Youngstown Hospital forty-five minutes later, in extreme shock and practically pulseless from the severe hemorrhage. The chest was at once opened, under ether and