Abstract
Pericardial adhesions increased the morbidity of reoperative cardiac surgical procedures. Attempts to reduce these adhesions have had limited success. Antiadhesive pericardium with heparin slow release was newly developed. The membrane was cross-linked by glutaraldehyde and heparinized ionically using protamine. Animal studies revealed that the membrane had excellent antiadhesive property. No or little adhesions were observed between the heart and the pericardial patches in 6 out of 7 dogs. It didn't cause a fibrotic reaction at the epicardial surface. Glutaraldehyde-fixed ethanol-preserved porcine pericardium with heparin slow release is a safe, effective pericardial substitute and must serve to prevent most postoperative cardiac adhesions.
