[Initial clinical experiences with a plasma impermeable capillary and a radial pump as a biventricular heart replacement]

A 3 month old infant was treated because of acute lung failure after VSD- and ASD occlusion with an extracorporal membrane oxygenation. The system performance was monitored over a period of 21 days. A Biomedicus 540 centrifugal pump served as the drive. The HILITE 800 LT infant oxygenator was chosen for oxygenation because this product is equipped with a plasma tight fiber. An oxygenator's application with an average of 128 hours lay, as expected, relatively high. Plasma leaks were not noticed. A change of pump head though became necessary due to high hemolysis after every 51 hs.