Prophylactic administration of low-dose heparin in colorectal surgery

Abstract
All operations performed on 192 patients involved dissection within the pelvis. Prophylactic administration of low-dose heparin was used for 71 of these patients. The incidences of clinical thromboembolic disease were 7% in both the group receiving heparin and the other group. In slightly more than half of the patients, pulmonary emboli occurred in the absence of peripheral deep venous thrombosis. The source of these emboli apparently was thrombosis arising in the pelvic veins.