Asian cardiovascular & thoracic annals
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Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann · Mar 2003
Case ReportsSuccessful treatment of accidental air embolism in warm heart surgery.
Normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass has recently been proposed as a superior technique for maintaining body metabolism. However, its use remains controversial since the degree of cerebral protection provided might be inferior to that conferred by conventional hypothermic techniques. We report a case of accidental massive air embolism during coronary artery bypass surgery under normothermia, which was successfully managed with induced hypothermia at 20 degrees C and retrograde cerebral perfusion.