A disposable unitized plastic sheet oxygenator for open heart surgery.

Abstract 1.A unitized, disposable, inexpensive bubble diffusion oxygenator constructed of two sheets of polyvinyl plastic has been used successfully in 11 clinical cases. 2.This oxygenator is commercially available as a sterile packaged unit ready to hang up, prime, and use. 3.Seven of 11 patients had intracardiac defects completely corrected and are living and well at this time. The remaining four patients (three were seriously ill infants) succumbed from complications including pulmonary hypertension and complete atrio-ventricular heart block. In none of these four patients did it appear that the performance of the pump or oxygenator could be incriminated in the unsuccessful outcome. 4.Biochemical perfusion data on these 11 patients compares favorably with determinations made on 250 patients perfused with the three dimensional prototype of this unit.