HEART OPERATIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 December 1934, Page 3

HEART OPERATIONS

SOME REMARKABLE RESULTS. The great advances of surgery date from the comparatively recent time vziien the modern developments of the “aseptic” method made it possible to open regions of the body without the dreadful risks of blood poisoning as a matter of course. Abdominal surgery developed quickly after the “discovery,” later the surgery of the brain was developed, aided in some ways by the catastrophes of war. In the post-war period there has been an effort in many centres to at-' tack diseases of the lungs by surgical ; means, and now there seems to be a possibility that even heart disease opens up a field where the surgeon can give valuable help, writes a medical correspondent in the London “Observer.” There has been, attempts in the past to perform lieroic feats, such as widening a. narrowed valve, and removal of,certain nerves for the relief cf angina has also secured some support. The latest development is to remove the thyroid gland in cases of heart failure where all other means have been without effect. This appears at first sight to be a meaningless and almost barbarous attack by the surgeon upon a field where the physician alone, has Jong reigned supreme. Reports of work on those lines have been coming from America for some time, and at certain centres in England investigation of the method has been proceeding.

SOME HOPE. hi a recent issue of "The British Medical Journal'’ a report of a team of workers in Birmingham inustiatcs that the operation does hold out some hope of amelioration of symptoms in otherwise “hopeless” cases. In six patients, all of whom had heart lailure or angina, or both, and n whom ad other methods of treatment hud railed to give relief, successful removal of the whole of the thyroid gland has been carried out. One patient v.xih a very high blood pressure unfortunately succumbed to a, “stroke a fey. weeks later, but it is repoited that although the time which has elapsed io still short, there has been . fan.y marked improvement,” in the symptoms in the other five. In. a 11 theic has been an increased ability to perform exertions better and to greater| extent than before. One housewife has been able to take up all her previous work with the exception of heavy washing! The explanation of this unusual l.ne of treatment is not yet altogether 'clear. The originators based the removal of the thyroid gland on the following line of argument: The deve op-| ment of heart, failure means that the heart is unable to keep up sufficient circulation for the needs of the body tissues. . . , r This need of the issues, mainly for oxygen, is controlled to a certain extent by the thyroid gland’s secretion. If- this.it very largely reduced by complete surgical removal of the gland the demands of the tissues are diminished and the circulatory system can cope with them in a more efficient manner. There are many points, however, whrn’.i ' require more elucidation, particularly las regards the effect upon the other endocrine glands.