Illustration of one typical way that a heart-lung machine may be connected to the veins and arteries near the heart. The three implements on the left represent (from top to bottom) the pump, the oxygenator, and the reservoir.<unk>  is commonly used in operations involving the heart. The technique allows the surgical team to oxygenate and circulate the patient's blood, thus allowing the surgeon to operate on the heart. In many operations, such as coronary artery<unk>  grafting (CABG), the heart is arrested (i.e., stopped) because of the difficulty of operating on the beating heart. Operations requiring the opening of the chambers of the heart, for example, mitral valve repair or replacement, requires the use of<unk>  to avoid engulfing air systemically and to provide a bloodless field to increase visibility for the surgeon. The machine pumps the blood and, using an oxygenator, allows red blood cells to pick up oxygen, as well as allowing carbon dioxide levels to decrease. This mimics the function of the heart and the lungs, respectively.<unk>  can be used for the induction of total body hypothermia, a state in which the body can be maintained for up to 45 minutes without perfusion (blood flow). If blood flow is stopped at normal body temperature, permanent brain damage normally occurs in three to four minutes – death may follow shortly afterward. Similarly,<unk>  can be used to rewarm individuals suffering from hypothermia. This rewarming method of using<unk>  is successful if the core temperature of the patient is above 16 °C. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a simplified version of the heart lung machine that includes a centrifugal pump and an oxygenator to temporarily take over the function of heart and/or the lungs. ECMO is useful in post cardiac surgery patients with cardiac or pulmonary dysfunction, in patients with acute pulmonary failure, massive pulmonary embolisms, lung trauma from infections, and a range of other problems that impair cardiac or pulmonary function. ECMO gives the heart and/or lungs time to repair or recover but it's only a temporary solution. Patients with terminal conditions, cancer, severe nervous system damage, uncontrolled sepsis and other conditions may not be candidates for ECMO. Surgical procedures in which<unk>  is used *Coronary artery<unk>  surgery *Cardiac valve repair and/or replacement (aortic valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonic valve) *Repair of large septal defects (atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, atrioventricular septal defect) *Repair and/or palliation of congenital heart defects (Tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great vessels) *Transplantation (heart transplantation, lung transplantation, heart–lung transplantation, liver transplantation) *Repair of some large aneurysms (aortic aneurysms, cerebral aneurysms) *Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy *Pulmonary thrombectomy *Isolated Limb perfusion
Cardiopulmonary bypass
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Minimized extracorporeal circulation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Intra-aortic balloon pump
Ventricular assist device
Resuscitative thoracotomy