By using the smallest commercially available oxygenator and our own modification of an apparatus for extracorporeal circulation we achieved minimal filling. By placing the apparatus close to the operating table the set can be miniaturized and the length of the tubes can be maximally reduced, while a satisfactory overview is ensured. The authors compared a group of 10 children operated by using this miniature apparatus with a control group of 20 children where the standard set up was used. The filling of the apparatus incl. added solutions was significantly smaller in the group with the mini-apparatus--on average 420 ml, as compared with the control group (671 ml). Despite the substantially larger amount of transfused blood in the control group with the greater volume (500 ml/patient), the resulting packed cell volume was the same in both groups. The other common postoperative parameters did not differ significantly in the two groups. The minimal filling of the apparatus for extracorporeal circulation in the described set up makes possible in the majority of children and infants with an elevated packed cell volume perfusion without the use of donor blood which is consistent with contemporary trends.

Dĕtské kardiocentrum FN Motol Praha