Femorofemoral bypass for temporary cardiac support in heart surgery.

Temporary femorofemoral bypass, combined with intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation, was used as a final resort to salvage the life of patients with extremely low cardiac output at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass and in patients who had cardiac arrest perioperatively who were unresponsive to conventional methods of resuscitation. Eight of 15 patients survived initially, 7 of them left hospital and remain well. These data are comparable to results obtained with the newly developed, but not readily available, left ventricular assist devices. The combination of femorofemoral bypass and intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation represents an important practical alternative as it can be used successfully for temporary cardiac support in critical situations, is potentially life-saving and is readily available at any cardiac centre at minimal cost.