Abstract
A new method of right ventricular assistance in which the right ventricle was bypassed by centrifugal pump without thoracotomy was designed. In order to insert the outtlow cannula into the pulmonary artery, we used Swan-Ganz catheters inside of it. Acute experiments were performed in 11 adult mongrel dogs. Biventricular assistance using this newly designed right ventricular assistance was instituted jointly with pneumatically driven left ventricular assist device. After that, biventricular failure was induced by normothermic myocardial ischemia by both aortic cross-clamping and ventricular fibrillation for 30 minutes. Initiating biventricular assistance described above for failed heart, we could maintain cardiac output 77.4±33.2ml/min/kg and reduce the systolic and enddiastolic pressure of the right ventricle, while left ventricular assistance alone was not enough because of the right ventricular failure. If regurgitation via the pulmonary or the tricuspid valve was present, right ventricular unloading effects were also well maintained. We conclude that this new technique is very useful for the treatment of acute right ventricular failure especially after institution of LVAD.
