Total Cardiac By-pass Utilizing Continuous Perfusion from Reservoir of Oxygenated Blood

Summary1. A simple method permitting total bypass of the heart and lungs for the performance of intracardiac surgical operations is described. 2. This method utilizes continuous perfusion of the recipient's (patient's) arterial system from a reservoir of oxygenated blood. An equivalent quantity of venous blood is removed from the recipient's superior and inferior cavae. 3. A pump is utilized to control this exchange between the recipient and the arterial and venous reservoirs. 4. Arterial blood for the reservoir was obtained from a donor animal used as an oxygenator independent of the perfusion system. This was done by collecting arterial blood from the donor's femoral artery into a heparin glucose solution while stored venous blood was infused into his femoral vein at an equal rate. Ordinarily 2,000 to 3,500 cc of arterial blood was collected from a single donor dog in this fashion. 5. The optimum dose of heparin to prevent clotting in the arterial blood collected for this purpose was 25 to 32 mg/liter o...