Prevention of Thromboembolic Disease by Vitamin E

To the Editor: Since the early 1950s, Alton Ochsner has repeatedly advocated the administration of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) to prevent postoperative thromboembolism. 1 2 3 4 5 6 As late as 1968, he said, "for 15 years I have used alpha tocopherol routinely in the treatment of patients who have been subjected to trauma of any magnitude. None of these patients have had pulmonary embolism." 6 The tocopherol-calcium regimen consists of 200 to 600 IU of alpha-tocopherol per day, administered intramuscularly or by mouth, beginning no later than the day of surgery and continuing through the postoperative period. Concurrently, 10 ml of a 10 per cent calcium . . .