title: Cardiopulmonary bypass in ewe's fetus: advances and setbacks in our learning curve.
abstract: Fetal cardiac surgery represents a surgical challenge and several centers are attempting to establish a suitable methodology in animals. We present our experience with extra-corporeal bypass procedures in preterm and term sheep fetuses. Twenty-two fetuses (103-139 days gestation, mean 115 days gestation) underwent a 1-hour period of right heart-to-pulmonary artery extracorporeal circulation followed by 1 hour of observation. Animals were divided into group 1 and group 2, according to gestational age (above and below 0.85). Three pumps were used: centrifugal without (group 1) reservoir, centrifugal with (group 2) reservoir, and roller with reservoir (group 2). Experiments were completed in 75% of fetuses in group 1 and in 37% of fetuses in group 2. Bleeding was the main cause of failure, especially for group 2. A slow deterioration of blood gas status was noted in group 1, while this trend could be partially reversed in group 2 with corrective measures. Complete heart bypass could not be achieved in either group, and residual fluctuations in arterial pressure were observed. During bypass, body temperature decreased more in group 2 than in group 1. We conclude that cardiac bypass is feasible over a short period in near-term fetuses. A successful outcome may also be obtained in younger fetuses, but better measures need to be implemented for the prevention of surgical bleeding.
authors.affiliation: G Pasquinucci Hospital for Cardiac Surgery, Massa, Italy. disor99@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crucean
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Murzi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giorgi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burchielli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trivella
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Coceani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical / Q000517:prevention & control; D001831:Body Temperature; D002315:Cardiopulmonary Bypass / Q000639:trends*; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry; D005333:Fetus / Q000601:surgery*; D005865:Gestational Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D012756:Sheep