A method of closed-chest cannulation of the left atrium for left atrial-femoral artery bypass.

A large-bore polyvinyl catheter was devised for passage into the left atrium by means of a modified transseptal catheterization technique. This was performed without difficulty using both pulsatile and nonpulsatile bypass in the closed-chest animal as well as in 3 terminally ill patients. Blood was drained from the left atrium and returned to the femoral artery through an extracorporeal circuit. The shock syndrome produced by coronary embolization in dogs was successfully managed in this fashion. The results of the clinical trials were encouraging. Assisted left heart circulation using a closed-chest left atrial-femoral artery bypass seems feasible by this technique.