ABSTRACT
Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a complex biomechanical engineering undertaking and an essential component of cardiac surgery. However, similar to all complex bioengineering systems, CPB activities are prone to a variety of safety and biomechanical issues. In this narrative review article, the authors discuss the preventative and intraoperative management strategies for a number of intraoperative CPB emergencies, including cannulation complications (dissection, malposition, gas embolism), CPB equipment issues (heater-cooler failure, oxygenator issues, electrical failure, and tubing rupture), CPB circuit thrombosis, medication issues, awareness during CPB, and CPB issues during transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Subject(s)
Embolism, Air , Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement , Humans , Cardiopulmonary Bypass/adverse effects , Emergencies , Oxygenators , Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement/adverse effectsSubject(s)
Heart Defects, Congenital , Adult , Female , Heart Defects, Congenital/surgery , Humans , Pregnancy , Prenatal CareABSTRACT
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is increasingly used in managing challenging airway and thoracic cases with complex airway manipulations. We present a case of a complex tracheal resection needing prolonged apnea times for which VV-ECMO was electively planned. Intraoperatively, the team was faced with continued oxygen desaturations during periods of apnea. With an algorithmic approach to troubleshooting hypoxemia, several factors were taken into consideration. Apneic oxygenation was applied to the open tracheal segment. Despite an open airway, the applied apneic oxygenation facilitated oxygenation to the portion of the cardiac output that was being shunted through the lungs as opposed to the VV-ECMO circuit, enabling uninterrupted completion of the surgical resection and reanastomosis.
