Traumatic aortic transection: repair using left atrial to femoral bypass

Traumatic aortic transection is a life-threatening surgical emergency. Therapy must be directed at rapid repair and prevention of postoperative complications, the most serious being paraplegia. Controversy over the optimal method of repair exists-specifically whether the use of a shunt modifies the outcome. Our series of 17 patients using left atrial to femoral bypass with the Biomedicus pump will be discussed. Preoperative preparation and operative technique will be outlined. Mortality in this series was 18%, the incidence of paraplegia was 0.