Priority setting and cardiac surgery: a qualitative case study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe priority setting in cardiac surgery and evaluate it using an ethical framework, "accountability for reasonableness".

Introduction: Cardiac surgery is an expensive part of hospital budgets. Priority setting decisions are made daily regarding ever increasing volumes of patients.

Evaluation of a novel sutureless anastomotic connector: from endothelial function to mid-term clinical and angiographic follow-up.

Objectives: We evaluated the effect of the St Jude Medical sutureless anastomotic connector on endothelium-dependent and -independent saphenous vein graft relaxation, as well as on clinical outcomes and graft patency in patients.

Methods: Human saphenous vein grafts were assigned to control or connector groups (loaded for 1 or 5 minutes; n = 18). Isometric dose-response curves to endothelium-dependent and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) vasodilators were constructed in saphenous vein grafts precontracted with phenylephrine.