SurgeXperiences is a biweekly round-up of the latest happenings in the surgical blogosphere. Each edition is written by a different website, and this time we have the privilege of playing host. So please, sit back, enjoy, and don’t forget to tip your server on the way out. Let’s get to it.

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We reported a few weeks back on two studies in the New England Journal of Medicine claiming to offer definitive proof that trasylol, the once-popular antifibrinolytic drug used in tons of cardiac procedures, significantly increased the risk of post-operative MI and renal failure. 
An even newer report by Pagano and colleagues in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular […]

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There is an amazing amount of hype and bad data surrounding the use of hemostatic and sealing agents. Despite thousands of manuscripts published on the various glues, pastes and potions currently being hawked, there is a major dearth of solid information.

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There’s no question that big pharm has it out for generics, and that it spends gazillions of dollars each year convincing everyone not to prescribe them. So who’s going to stick up for the underdog?

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…but we were. Who could have guessed there were a few “deficiencies” in the heparin production process?

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Since its suspension from the market in November of last year, the adverse effects of Trasylol (aprotinin) have been well known. Although this antifibrinolytic drug was once used in nearly a third of CABG procedures to reduce intraoperative bleeding, an NEJM study published in 2006 revealed that it doubled the risk of renal failure and […]

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The Wall Street Journal has a nice slideshow this morning that shows, in vivid detail, the process by which heparin is extracted from porcine intestine. Or, as they put it:
In a small, damp factory here, blood-smeared men wring pulp from pig intestines, then heat it in concrete vats.
Since you cannot throw a ping pong ball […]

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