Evening star., 1938-07-31
SPEED POSSIBLE
|NHEART SURGERY
Member of Bucharest U.
Staff Describes Biq
Achievements.
BY DIR. N. N, PETRASCU.'

DoS4AAAeE<o July CU
Sensational achievements in cardiac
surgical cases, whereby patients can
be safely moved direct from the opera
ton table, are ascribed to DR.. Liviu
Cempeanu, a member of the teaching
stan Of Bucharest University and a
vell-known practitioner in the Ru-
manian capital
DR.. Campeanu's surgical innovations
attracted attention in the United
States last month, when a paper de-
scribing his work was read at the an
nual convention of the American
Medical Association in San Francisco.
DR.. Campeanu, who is the medical
omcer in charge of the hospital at
Brasov, studied at the Universities Of
Budapest, Granz and Vienna.
DR.. Campeanu distinguished him.
sef after the war in specializing in
dif1lcult operations on the heart, par
ticularly where the heart had been
penetrated. After many experiments
he proved satisfactorily that a mo-
mentary stoppage of the hearts action.
which very often occurs in cases of
heavy hemorrhage, does not neces-
ssrily entail death. BY the use of
adrenalin and other injections he
succeeded in reviving the patient in
many cases and in restoring the heart S
action.
Cardiac collapse" DR.. Campeanu
said in an interview, lis the complica-
ton most feared in an operation. It
may be brought about by direct COM
preston OF the heart I have in mind
two cases which were successful. In
80 other cases the treatment was of
different character. The age of the
patients varied from IA months to
IS years. They were mostly males.
In 18 cases We induced general anes-
thesia, once with chloroform and II
times with ether. In nine cases We
administered spinal anesthetic with
novocain, stovain, tropacocain and
syncain. We were successful in l6
cases
Heart Reanimated.
Two cases of cardiac syncope
brought about by heart failure due
to direct compression are very inter-
esting. In one case the blockase was
produced by pericardial hemorrhage
and in the other by myself intention
ally. This was necessary because the
heart had been penetrated but the
wound was not visible. The heart had
stopped and suture of the wound
centimeters long was inserted, pene-
trating the right auricle. ! admins
tered directly into the right ventricle
quantity of sdrenalin and re-
animation was promptly secured In
the second case the wound concerned
. the anterior face Of the left ventricle
and termination was secured by mas
sage of the heart alone"
The work which directed world At
tentlon to DR.. Campeanu was in con-
nectlon with the early removal of
eperational cases." The Importance
OF this method Of treating cases
which applied to the evacuation of
wounded soldiers in case of war, need
not be emphasized
The application of my method for
moving surgical cases of different
types directly from the operating
table" DR.. Campeanu said, "opens up
large perspective in the problem of
their evacuation as well as in the
treatment OF war wounded MY meth
Cd greatly increases. the number OF
wounded who can look after them
selves. Official calculation has fixed
this increase at IS per cent on pre-
vious figures.
Treatment Speeds Recovery.
altogether I have moved $3.50
patients on the day on which they
were operated on, such operations in
cluding abdominal. chest and goitre
cases. These patients had been op-
Grated on with local anesthetic and
carried out prescribed series of
movements, steps and gymnastic ex-
ercises on the day of their operation
and on succeeding days. I found
their recovery was accelerated by my
treatment.
From a medical point of view,
the most important aspect of my
treatment is that it takes the patients
almost at once away from the surgeon
and passes them to the physician.
Moreover, once the wounded have
been operated upon. they can be
cleared away to hospital centers in
the rear.
The use of methods which allow
surgical case TO get up from the
operating table, dress, walk, go up and
down stairs and do gymnastic eXer-
cises after having undergone a ma
jor operation will enable men wound
ed in battle to proceed by themselves
to hospitals where they can be kept
until they are convalescent. Men re-
ceiving preliminary attention at an
advanced casualty station will be able
in many cases to look after themselves
until they reach a base hospital, in
stead Of having to be carried in
stretchers or ambulances.
Several Injections.
BY my method patients who have
been given first of all local anesthetic
receive, some 80 minutes before they
are operated on, an injection of di-
laudid- -scopolamine IN proportion to
the weight of their BODY. Thirty min
utes before the operation the injection
is renewed. The patients are then
moved on a portable stretcher directly
to the operating room. AS soon as the
effect of the anesthetic has passed
away the patients are allowed to move
ss much as possible. Three or four
hours after the operation the patient
may leave the stretcher or operating
table and take few steps. AS soon as
the effect of the anesthetic has passed
off and the feeling of pain returns an
injection of morphia or some other
drug may be given.
The foregoing treatment is for
patients operated on under a narcotic
or spinal anesthesia. Patients operated
on under local anesthetic can leave
the operating table by their own
means. and rarely require a nurses
help. They can dress and wash them
selves and some have even been known