Preliminary experience with the mini-extracorporeal circulation system (Medtronic resting heart system)

A compact cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) utilized by closed circuit system with minimized priming volume can be a solution to reduce adverse effects of CPB, and the Resting Heart System (RHS; Medtronic, Inc, Minneapolis, MN, USA) is the newest one on the market. We performed CABG with RHS in 10 patients, and report here our preliminary experiences with RHS in comparison with conventional CPB. Twenty patients who underwent isolated CABG were randomized into two groups; RHS group (n=10) with the use of RHS and Conventional group (n=10) with the use of a conventional CPB. There were no significant differences of preoperative patient characteristics in both groups. The mean number of grafts was 2.7+/-0.6 and 2.7+/-0.8 (P=0.38), the mean aortic clamp was 32+/-11 and 35+/-11 min (P=0.35), and CPB times were 68+/-25 and 72+/-24 min (P=0.82) in RHS and Conventional group, respectively. All patients but one had no complications and survived in both groups. One patient in RHS group died suddenly on the 5th postoperative day after uneventful postoperative course. Postoperative leukocyte count at 6 h after the operation and value of the C-reactive protein were 11200+/-2310 and 13300+/-3990/mm(3) (P=0.10) and 44.4+/-9.7 and 65.3+/-18.5 mg/l (P=0.045) in RHS and Conventional group, respectively. CABG operations could be safely performed using the RHS with a comfort level similar to standard CPB.