title: A surgeon defends himself in a malpractice trial.
abstract: The author presents a case of disc escape without strut fracture in a Bjork-Shiley tilting-disc aortic valve. Two years after the patient's death, the surgeon, the valve company, the hospital, and others were sued. The surgeon, a first-year law student, represented himself, pro se, at trial.
authors.affiliation: UMDNJ-Newark.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Poulos
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery*; D005104:Expert Testimony; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009515:New Jersey; D010819:Physician's Role; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012086:Reoperation