How do a cardiologist connect the heart to a heart-lung machine? ?
The Desert Bird, To initiate heart-lung bypass, the surgeon must first impair the bodies own clotting system. Otherwise, the patients blood would immediately clot upon exposure to the plastic tubing and artificial surfaces inside the heart-lung machine itself. Thinning of the blood (or anticoagulation) is done by first administering a powerful anticoagulant called heparin. Once clotting is impaired, a large drainage tube is placed in the upper chamber of the heart (right atrium). This tube drains the blue blood from the patient into the heart-lung machine. Then a smaller tube is placed into the arterial system so that red blood can be returned to the patients body where it is needed. The most common site for this tube is in the aorta (just above the place where the vein grafts will be connected). Once these “cannulae” are placed into the patient, and connections are made to the heart lung machine (via plastic extension tubing), the machine can now take over the pumping action of the he
