Letters to the Editor

Recombinant activated factor VII in cardiac surgery – first, do no harm

Oliver J Warren , Ara W Darzi and Thanos Athanasiou

Department of BioSurgery and Surgical Technology, Imperial College London, 10^th Floor QEQM Wing, St. Mary's Hospital, Praed Street, London, W2 1NY, UK

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Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery 2007, 2:50doi:10.1186/1749-8090-2-50

Published:	24 November 2007

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

We read with interest Heise et al's case report and review of the literature regarding the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in patients with ventricular assist devices (VAD) [1]. Whilst we welcome the addition to the literature in this area, there are two key areas regarding this relatively novel haemostatic agent that we felt the authors had failed to address appropriately, and that may therefore mislead the practicing cardiac surgeon.