Abstract
Summary
1. Dogs withstood and recovered from 30 minutes of total inflow occlusion to the right heart with extracorporeal cardiorespiratory maintenance at an average flow of 35 cc/kg/minute. 2. Biologic oxygenators (autologous and homologous lung lobes) and a pump (Sigma-motor) were used and the following precautions seemed essential (a) patency of the pulmonary veins—i.e. no cannulization whatever, (b) depulsator in pulmonary artery perfusion limb of the circuit, (c) care as to ventilatory mechanics of the isolated lobes. 3. The “open” system employed herein permitted rather exact balance between venous aspiration from bypassed dogs and arterial return to the dogs, and enabled flow measurements to be made.
Note added in proof. Since submission of this manuscript, human blood has been perfused through the isolated dog lung with flows up to 1400 cc/minute, and the clinical applicability of this system (pump-biological oxygenator) as a means of cardiorespiratory maintenance during cardiac by-pass has been tested by the successful closure of a traumatic interventricular septal defect in a 55 kg male. In this patient the heart was partially by-passed for 20 minutes and totally by-passed for 15 minutes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.