Medicine: Short Cuts

Hundreds of new gadgets and wrinkles were described at San Francisco:

¶A metal spring developed by the Elgin National Watch Co., so far tested only in dogs, gives promise of relief for a common disorder of the human heart, reported Dr. James H. Wible and colleagues of Detroit's Wayne University College of Medicine. Called "Elgiloy," the metal is formed into a valvelike flap and covered with nylon. The surgeon fits it into the heart in place of a sub-par mitral or aortic valve. Within 48 hours normal tissue begins to grow around it, in about two weeks completely encloses it. The...

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