[Arthur Fallot (1850-1911) and blue disease].

Arthur Fallot (1850-1911) described for the first time the so-called "maladie bleue", or "blue disease". His discovery was published in Marseille Médical, and therefore remained little known. Present cardiologists know what they owe him and therefore call "tetralogy of Fallot" this congenital heart condition.

[Painters as history witnesses (plague in Marseille in 1720)].

Plague in Marseilles in 1720: what about its painted representation?

[Abnormal origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery. Diagnostic contribution of ultrasonographic technique].

We report a case of abnormal origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery trunk. The original features of this case were its discovery in a young pregnant woman, the normality of basal left ventricular function and the electrocardiogram, the diagnosis by transoesophaegeal echocardiography, and the demonstration of severe myocardial ischaemia by stress echocardiography.

[Decompensated cardiac valve disease associated with tight aortic stenosis. Surgical cure in one stage (author's transl)].

The authors report on 2 cases of severe cardiac valve disease associated with tight stenosis of the aortic isthmus for which the standard techniques could not be safely applied owing to patients' poor condition. Inserting by the median route a dacron tube between the ascending aorta and the subdiaphragmatic descending aorta immediately after heart valve replacement under extracorporeal circulation in our experience proved a simple and safe technique.

[Decompensated valvular disease and coarctation. One-stage repair using a median approach with an ascending aorta-abdominal aorta shunt].

The tactical decision in patients with decompensated valvular disease associated with a severe stenosis of the aortic isthmus is always difficult. One stage surgical repair using two separate approaches is a long and high risk procedure. It would seem more logical and safer to treat the lesions in two stages a few weeks apart, the severest lesion being managed first.

[Painless ST elevation with syncope. Diagnosis by continuous electrocardiography].

The aetiology of syncope in a 53 year old man was discovered on continuous ambulatory electrocardiography. A ventricular arrhythmia associated with ST elevation was recorded. It proved resistant to medical therapy and a double aorto-coronary bypass graft was performed.

[Anesthesia-recovery from aorto-coronary bypass surgery (100 recent cases)].

The authors report their experience of anaesthesia and postoperative recovery in cases of myocardial revascularisation surgery. On the basis of their last 100 bypass operations, they define the problems encountered according to the operative indications, previous treatment and the surgical technique, and attempt to provide answers to these problems. The difficulties (arrhythmias, myocardial ischaemia, hypertensive crises) occurred during the first 48 hours.

[Crenelation of Beall's prostheses in mitral position: apropos of 21 reoperated cases].

The authors report their experience of 21 revision operations for malfunction of the Beall Surgitool 104 prosthesis used in the mitral position. The incidence and uniformity of the disorders found in the prostheses suggest that these changes are produced inevitably usually during the fourth year. The disc becomes kinked, the mountings eroded, and the teflon ring torn.