ABSTRACT

Cardiac surgery has developed at a rapid pace since the first procedures in the 1920s. Driven by trauma innovations during the post-war period, the specialty has seen a massive expansion in the range and complexity of conditions treated. Cardiac surgery has developed at a rapid pace since the first procedures in the 1920s. Driven by trauma innovations during the post-war period, the specialty has seen a massive expansion in the range and complexity of conditions treated. Cardiopulmonary Bypass was first used successfully in 1953 by Gibbon and has since revolutionised cardiac surgery. It can be used in any procedure in which the heart and lungs need to be stopped temporarily and their function replaced artificially. A single purse-string suture is placed around the right atrial appendage and a single ‘two-stage’ venous cannula is placed to establish venous drainage.