Blood transfusion and coagulation management

Despite impressive progress in surgical technique, aortic surgery is still associated with relatively high morbidity and mortality. One of the most important contributors to this phenomenon is the triad of bleeding, anemia, and transfusion. All three factors are known to influence the outcome of aortic surgery to a great extent. However, over the last few years a multidisciplinary, multimodal concept has been established, which enables the physician to avoid bleeding, anemia, and transfusion as much as possible. The concept of "patient blood management" combines several established measures with the potential to improve perioperative outcome. This chapter describes these measures with regard to aortic surgery and assesses their respective efficacy.