[Eleven year experience of treatment mediastinitis after open heart surgery].

The frequency of infective mediastinitis after open heart surgery, according data of various authors, ranges from 0.1% to 1%. In order to decrease amount of this type of complications the specialised department with 12 beds was established at the Heart Surgery Clinic of Vilnius University in January 1, 1991.

[Risk of second and third reoperation on prosthetic heart valves].

As the volume of heart valve replacements increases, more patients are undergoing repeated operations. There are many reasons for reoperations that include incomplete or imperfectly executed primary operation, infection on valve prostheses, valve related complications. Repeated operations have their own specific technical problems, and from them depends mortality and complications rate.