Plasma fibrinolytic inhibitors after operation.

The response of the fibrinolytic system to the stress of a surgical operation has been studied in a group of 39 patients. Fibrinolytic activity was stimulated during the operation but depressed during the early postoperative period. This was accompanied by an increase in the level of fibrinolytic inhibitors in the plasma after operation. This increase in fibrinolytic inhibitors was a result of a significant rise in alpha1 antitrypsin; the level of alpha2 macroglobulin fell both during and after the operation.