Abstract
Experimental hypothermia in the dog started in Canada 55 years ago. In Japan, clinical application of hypothermia in human medicine was first conducted for the open heart surgery in 1954. At present, hypothermia is used worldwide for open heart surgeries of infants. Initially we used surface-cooling deep or profound hypothermia with ether and successfully repaired pulmonary stenosis, atrial septum defect, ventricular septum defect and mitral regurgitation (MR) in small breed dogs. Recently we are using the combined method with hypothermia using isoflurane and low flow cardiopulmonary bypass. This improved hypothermia enables us to do safer operations for severe MR or complicated cardiac anomaly of toy and small breed dogs.
