Filter removes microemboli during heart-lung bypass
Microemboli blamed for postoperative complications in some patients undergoing open heart surgery are filtered from blood with new device
A synthetic fiber (Dacron wool) filter which removes non-fat microemboli from the blood during heart-lung bypass procedures is working well in clinical trials.
J. Donald Hill, MD, told the International Cardiovascular Society meeting in Chicago the device is also "very effective" in filtering out air bubbles. Microemboli which form during extracorporeal circulation, he reminded participants, have been blamed for a variety of postoperative complications and a high mortality.
Dr. Hill, an associate at the Heart Institute of the University of the Pacific Medical Center, described the Swank Blood Filter which has improved the survival rate of patients undergoing open heart surgery and nearly eliminated non-fat emboli found in cerebral tissue of patients who do not survive. His co-authors include John Osborn, MD, Frank Gerbode, MD,
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