Simultaneous upper and lower body perfusion using hypothermia during thoracoabdominal aortic surgery

In open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair, doctors use a method involving cooling the body (hypothermia) and circulating blood to both the upper and lower body at the same time. This helps protect the spinal cord, brain, heart, and abdominal organs during surgery. The study reviewed 18 patients who underwent TAAA repair using this hypothermia and simultaneous perfusion method. The results showed no spinal cord ischemic injury or brain/heart complications. The findings suggest that using this combined approach of hypothermia and simultaneous upper and lower body perfusion can help prevent spinal cord injury as well as heart and brain complications during complex aortic surgery.

• 1
  No patients developed paraplegia, paraparesis, or other nerve damage due to SCII or cerebral infarction.
• 2
  One patient with right renal artery occlusion and one with an infected aneurysm required postoperative tracheostomy and long-term hospitalization, but they were discharged alive.
• 3
  The average ischemic time for the artery of Adamkiewicz and main segmental arteries was 74 ± 29 minutes.