title: A new device for evacuating air from the cardiac chambers.
abstract: A new device has been developed to provide complete de-airing of the heart after cardiopulmonary bypass. The apparatus consists of a special aspiration needle threaded to the bottom of a transparent bulb. A 1-way flutter valve is mounted at the top of the bulb, which creates a vacuum when the bulb is squeezed. This device has been used in 4 adults and 2 children, for both congenital and acquired heart disease. Preliminary results have shown that this device's active suctioning of air results in effective removal of air from the cardiac chambers; the transparent bulb enables the surgeon to visually determine that the de-airing procedure is complete.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Texas Heart Institute, Houston 77225-0345.
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000388:Air; D002309:Cardiology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002648:Child; D006321:Heart; D006801:Humans; D013396:Suction / Q000295:instrumentation