Cardiopulmonary Bypass

A course on mechanical circulatory support and all things cardiac surgery and intensive care would not be complete without a more comprehensive understanding of cardiopulmonary bypass and the bypass circuit itself. Invented by Dr. John Gibbon in 1953, cardiopulmonary bypass is an integral part of the cardiac operating room and essential for successful cardiac surgery. Run by the perfusion team, bypass circuits can appear to the untrained eye be a complex mess of wires, tubing, buckets, clamps, pumps and more- making it extraordinarily intimidating to those of us who didn't train to run the machine! But fear not! In this section of the "Master the Machines" with the help of some good friends from perfusion, am going to walk you through the bypass circuit as well as other related topics such as cardioplegia, cell saver, steps to going on, and much, much more!