Ann Thorac Surg 2001;72:666
© 2001 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Correspondence
The reluctant use of femoral cannulation as a minimal access approach for pediatric cardiac surgery: Reply
David Bichell, MDa
a Children’s Hospital, San Diego, 3030 Children’s Way, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
e-mail: dbichell{at}chsd.org
To the Editor
We share the theoretical concern of Drs Komai and Naito for the safety of femoral artery cannulation in children. With the mortality and morbidity of ASD closure in the modern era approaching 0%, any responsible innovation in the technique for ASD closure must be held against a high standard, and no new risk—theoretical or otherwise—is justified. Femoral artery cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass was used in a minority of the cases included in our report, as it was the site of choice of 1 surgeon in the group early in the series only. Although no complication of femoral artery cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass in children was encountered in our series or others, our standard of practice has been a distal ascending aortic, and bicaval venous cannulation through the lower partial sternotomy incision.
Related Article
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The reluctant use of femoral cannulation as a minimal access approach for pediatric cardiac surgery
- Hiroyoshi Komai and Yasuaki Naito
Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2001 72: 665-666.
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