Darning Blood Vessels

How to repair torn veins and arteries is a big problem for surgeons. For broken blood vessels grow limp, like a flat tire, and it is difficult to spread the severed ends into tubular shape so they can be stitched together. Some 30 years ago, Dr. Alexis Carrel, then teaching at Chicago, overcame this difficulty by stuffing torn blood vessels with vaseline. But this technique was so troublesome that few surgeons have followed it. Last week famed Physiologist Anton Julius Carlson of the University of Chicago announced that one of his medical students, Sidney Smith, had finally made the two ends meet--by the simplest of inventions. For this he was awarded Chicago's coveted Harry Ginsburg prize.

Young Mr. Smith (he will get his M. D. next year) conceived the idea of slipping the severed ends of a blood vessel over a slender rod from opposite directions and sewing them where they met. The rod, like a darning egg inside a torn stocking, makes sewing easy. Of course the rod cannot be left inside, nor can it be removed. So Sidney Smith makes his rods of sugar in sizes to fit all types of blood vessels. Coated with a thin film of bland oil, the rod stiffens the vein or artery while a surgeon mends the break with overcast stitches. Clamps cut off the supply of blood during the stitching. Then the clamps are removed and in ten to 15 seconds, the warm blood melts the sugar and circulation proceeds normally.

Although doctors have tried the new technique only on dogs, they hope to use it soon on human beings. Not only would it be invaluable for accidents, said Dr. Carlson last week, but it would also enable doctors to cut open blood vessels and remove emboli--clots which block circulation, may cause death.

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