Veno-right ventricular bypass as total extracorporeal lung assistance. An experimental study.

Efficacy of veno-right ventricular bypass as a total extracorporeal lung assistance was studied for a period of 24 hours in six healthy pigs with a mean weight of 60 kg. A covalently bonded heparin-coated extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system and a roller pump were used for the bypass. No local or systemic heparin was administered. The bypass was established with an open chest with two 28F venous cannulas and one 24F arterial cannula. The arterial cannula was placed in the right ventricle across the tricuspid valve. With the lung function totally disabled, this extracorporeal lung assistance maintained normal systemic arterial and mixed venous blood gases during the entire 24-hour period in all the animals. No significant tricuspid insufficiency was observed, and the animals maintained normal central hemodynamics. There was no hemolysis, and the platelet counts remained essentially unaltered. Multiple foci of clot formation were observed in all the oxygenators, but no macroscopic thrombosis or embolization was seen either in the heart or in the lungs. A veno-right ventricular bypass offers total extracorporeal lung assistance in 60 kg juvenile pigs for a period of 24 hours. Tricuspid valve competence is an important prerequisite for the success of this procedure.