ABSTRACT
Gibbon’s creation of a bubble oxygenator not only allowed for the surgical treatment
of complex cardiovascular diseases, it also hailed the beginning of mechanical cardio-
pulmonary assistance (1). However, it became clear to pioneers in the field of cardiac
surgery that certain patients would not easily be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass
(CPB), indicating the necessity of having mechanical devices that assist with native
cardiac function until the heart recovers. The first successful use of a mechanical bridge to
recovery was reported in 1963, when four patients suffering from postcardiotomy heart
failure were maintained on femoral-femoral bypass until their hearts recovered adequate
function to support them (2).
