Percutaneous Cardiopulmonary Bypass As an Adjunctive Strategy for Resucitation

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is now 50 years old. Although developed originally to allow correction of congenital and valvular heart disease, CPB has affected all of medicine profoundly. As an artificial circulatory support for systemic and pulmonary functions, CPB has allowed for the development of cardiovascular surgery. Today, coronary artery bypass grafting is the most commonly performed cardiac surgery. The current trend is to perform a larger number of more complicated coronary revascularization surgeries “off pump.” However, CPB supported work still accounts for the vast majority of surgeries. The CPB technology has evolved from one with large oxygenators, blood prime, and complex heating and cooling to today’s smaller and less complex technologies.