Valvular and coronary artery surgery.

: This brief review supplements recent extensive discussion of valvular and coronary artery surgery in this journal. It includes 1) ultrasonic decalcifications of stenotic aortic valves, a technique once more found wanting because of induced aortic incompetence; 2) the concept of prosthesis-specific anticoagulation, adjusting the level of anticoagulant control for individual prosthetic valves to minimize thromboembolic and hemorrhagic complications; 3) the use of homograft aortic roots to treat aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis; and 4) a new approach to the repair of postinfarction ventricular septal defects, supported by excellent results.