Abstract
Bearing in mind that one case does not make a study, we would briefly like to elaborate on our exposure to cardiopulmonary support (CPS) at Milwaukee Heart Surgery Associates. CPS, in our opinion, is something that we will have to deal with whetherwe share the same cardiological philosophy or not. In order to provide the same standard of care to patients in the catheterization laboratory as we do for patients in surgery, it is incumbent upon us as perfusionists to be as knowledgeable and skilled as possible. A good rapport with the cardiologist and surgeon is essential in developing a workable protocol so as to avoid abuse of the technique. Direct visualization, with respect to cannulation and surgeon participation, is an ideal situation and is the standard of care in our practice. The cardiologist cannot perform supportive angioplasty utilizing CPS without consulting a surgeon, thereby minimizing some of the vascular complications that can arise as a result of nonsurgeon participation.
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