Why do books on the history of cardiac surgery often end with a chapter on the artificial heart? This book follows such a pattern and includes descriptions of early left ventricular assist devices. But, in credit to the author, the history began in the 19th century when Professor Ludwig Rehn sutured a stab wound to a man’s heart; the patient lived, and this success was followed by others, most notably by Dr. Luther Hill in Montgomery, AL, in 1902. That teenage patient survived the surgery, but in a sad irony, died 40 years later after being stabbed again in the heart. The amazing work of Alexis Carrel in suturing blood vessels, blood transfusion medicine, development of safe anesthesia, cardiac catheterization, and the whole panoply of remarkable advances that made openheart surgery practical are admirably recounted in this book. As is fundamental in describing any history, people are the focus of these stories. Many lithographs and photographs of the luminaries are found within the pages of this excellent book, but, regrettably, little is written about the technology that most perfusionists would find most interesting based on their own experience.

This is the definitive biography of Michael Ellis DeBakey – often referred to as the greatest surgeon of the 20th century. Spanning 610 pages, this book reveals all sides of DeBakey – father, military veteran, surgeon, innovator, and medical statesman. The author is a vascular surgeon and gifted writer, who was a Michael E. DeBakey Fellow in the History of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. This book represents scholarship of the highest order as revealed in personal interviews with those who knew Dr. DeBakey and from voluminous primary sources (77 archival boxes) housed at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD.

An award-winning journalist digs deeply into the subject and provides astounding details of the first cardiac transplant at the Medical College of Virginia in 1968. It was controversial because the donor’s family was not contacted before the heart of their deceased relative was removed. The author puts the event in the larger context of the “race” by other surgeons and the racial inequities of that era and the flurry of heart transplants before the procedure became safer after the introduction of cyclosporine in the 1980s. This is a compelling read that profiles the people and larger issues of societal implications of cardiac transplantation.

This lab coat-sized book has been a favorite resource of perfusionists for over three decades. Like the previous versions, this third edition is authored and edited solely by perfusionists. Burgeoning to over 400 pages, readers will delight in the numerous standards and guidelines (denoted in italics) that supplement the text. Newly added figures and diagrams complement the early chapters, and QR codes directly link the interested practitioner to additional web-based information. Source material is bountiful, including an appendix that cites useful parameters, formulas, and conversion factors. Emerging technology, such as normothermic machine perfusion of donor organs, is appropriately examined, and new chapters include HIPEC, the Angio Vac system, and platelet gel. The discussion on myocardial protection remains unchanged from previous versions of this book except for statements about Del Nido formulation and microplegia. The specification table for arterial line filters, included as part of the Filtration chapter, is woefully out of date and should be omitted. Overall, this manual delivers on its purpose – a resource intended for pump-side use by today’s working perfusionists.

The third edition offers a comprehensive and up-todate reference text to extracorporeal cardiopulmonary support. This book provides a clinically focused tutorial with chapters spanning technical aspects, patient related considerations, and human factors essential to contemporary practice of cardiopulmonary bypass. Written concisely to allow the reader to gain and apply critical knowledge to the clinical setting and featuring artwork that has been extensively updated to include numerous figures and color plates imbedded into each chapter. A remarkable collection of international experts in the fields of perfusion, anesthesiology, and cardiac surgery were recruited to co-author chapters, providing a multidisciplinary approach to case management. This completely updated edition includes expanded content on developments in minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation, anticoagulation, organ injury, and human factors. The comprehensive coverage of perfusion practice in a concise, highly illustrated format makes it the go-to, portable reference manual for perfusionists, cardiac surgeons, and anesthesiologists.

Appearing as a typical memoir, this manuscript is in fact an anthology of Dr. Robert Bartlett’s professional life. Each chapter begins as a story told by Bartlett himself. His musings, for instance, about his mentors Drs. Robert Gross and Francis Moore are delightful reading. Further enriching the chapters is the added commentary by the editors – all close personal friends of Bartlett. This book is not chronological, but it is divided into five distinct sections. Bartlett begins by introducing several influential characters such as Al Gazzaniga, his trusted partner in Irvine. Also mentioned is Bartlett’s wife Wanda, who cleaned disc oxygenators as a crucial source of income during his meager years as a surgical resident in Boston. Bartlett’s candid remarks about Medicare and the unstable economics of healthcare are a passionate plea for reform. Of course, ECMO is the featured topic in these pages, and Bartlett covers it expertly from origins to fruition. The pictures that accompany this portion of the book are extraordinary, including a ne’er seen photo of Drinker’s “paint shaker” membrane oxygenator which Bartlett helped develop in the late 1960s. The last section, entitled “Stories Invited by Bob”, regales the reader with accounts from Bartlett’s most intimate circle of colleagues. In particular, the chapter penned by perfusionist John Toomasian, a loyal comrade of Bartlett’s both in Irvine and Ann Arbor, is a first-hand look at how the world’s earliest ECMO programs were developed. The ECMO community knew Bartlett as an indomitable pioneer and scientist for sure. This book shows his human side, and how marvelous a person he was to many.

The author interviewed and paid tribute to pioneering cardiac surgeons and those who developed heart-lung machines, artificial heart valves, and mechanical hearts. Personality conflicts and previously unknown controversies are reported and add context to well-known recitations of major accomplishments in the development of cardiac surgery.

This monograph nicely recounts the emergence of a new society and features great insights into the personalities who pioneered cardiac and lung transplantation along with the corollary mechanical circulatory support. Perhaps most revealing is a chapter where society presidents and their close colleagues reflect on the men and women who led the organization and innovated in the day. The honorary president was the internationally recognized “father” of cardiac transplantation, Dr. Norman E. Shumway. He alone persisted in studying the mechanisms of rejection and perfected the surgical technique after the heady years in the late 1960s and early 1970s when surgeons seemed to be in a race to be the latest transplant surgeon. In those years cardiac transplantation was known as an “illegitimate newborn” according to another pioneering surgeon, Dr. Jack G. Copeland, who would champion artificial heart technology because of the limited availability of donor hearts. This book is a gem for those who want to know more about “cutting edge” developments that currently are becoming commonplace in many centers.

This self-published memoir by a DeBakey-trained general and vascular surgeon recounts the author’s distinguished career in Lubbock, Texas, where sandstorms and rolling tumbleweeds are ever-present. He traveled often over the course of his career and was highly instrumental in bringing a medical school to his alma mater, Texas Tech University. His friendship and mutual regard with Dr. Michael E. DeBakey stemmed not only from his training in Houston but from their common Lebanese heritage. Dr. Salem served a term as president of the DeBakey International Surgical Society. He was most proud of bringing cardiac surgery to the South Plains of Texas. His commitment to his patients, medical innovations, and ethics is apparent when reading about this author’s life. There are numerable photographs, mostly of luminaries he met along his life journey.

As most know, there are relatively few women cardiac surgeons. This one wrote a compelling memoir of her experiences in becoming a medical doctor and surgeon. She writes of being misidentified as a nurse early on and candidly recounts the brutal sexism she sometimes experienced on her journey. She deftly tells of patient successes and failures and the emotions accompanying the stories. She provides revelatory, extraordinary perspectives on her chosen field and personal life as all true memoirs do. It is a book hard to put down once reading begins.

Being a memoir, this is autobiographical in nature but contains a chapter detailing the controversial first implantation of a total artificial heart in 1969 as a bridge-to-transplant. It has many personal photographs and appendices chronicling the author’s numerous contributions to cardiac surgery.

This is a slim collection of historical photos and commentary from a surgeon featuring pioneering surgeons, early pump oxygenators, pacemakers, and heart valves originating from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The involvement of the nascent behemoth Medtronic Corporation figures into the story of bringing device innovations to the masses. It is dedicated “To all those who have struggled to find a better way.”

This in-depth account of cardiac medicine in Houston traces the evolution of the surgeons and cardiologists associated with the Houston Methodist Hospital. Of course, much of the focus is on Drs. DeBakey and Cooley and their accomplishments.

The author was a key member of the research team whose life-long work with Dr. Willem J. Kolff culminated in the first permanent artificial heart implant in 1982. The book provides previously unknown details of the recipient’s life and events surrounding the historic operation.

A note from the author foretells the contents as “stories of courage in the face of adversity.” He tells of the wartime experiences of Drs. Dwight Harken and pioneering surgeon Charles Bailey, who were engaged in a race of sorts to perform surgery for mitral stenosis. While both lost many of their early patients, Dr. Bailey won the race five days ahead of Dr. Harken and was soon followed by a successful report for the same operation in London by Russell Brock. The author also tells the unlikely story of the Canadian orthopedic surgeon turned cardiac surgeon, Dr. William Mustard, who had a dreadful record of early pediatric deaths using monkey lungs as oxygenators, but who would then devise a surgical repair for transposition of the great arteries that bears his name. The familiar stories about hypothermia and development of the heart-lung machine and the men responsible that allowed heart surgery to flourish are described. Stories of other luminaries in cardiac surgery and cardiology and the devices they developed are well chronicled in this highly readable book. It includes some historical figures and photos to supplement the text.

This is a well-researched book that looks at a variety of cardiac topics. The title refers to Werner Forssmann’s highly controversial catheterization of his own heart in 1929. There are chapters on cardiopulmonary bypass, heart transplants, and artificial hearts.

The art and science of providing perfusion for patients undergoing surgical correction of congenital heart lesions has advanced rapidly in the last decade. The complex equipment, unique acid-base management strategies, specialized perfusion and ultrafiltration techniques, the wide variation in patients’ ages, sizes, and vulnerability to physiological trespass, and the wide variety of surgical procedures performed set perfusion for congenital heart surgery apart from that provided for correction of acquired heart disease in adults. Consequently, provision of cardiopulmonary support for repair of congenital heart disease has become a distinct specialty. This text provides an invaluable road map for the pediatric perfusionist and non-perfusionist caring for patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) to confidently devise a plan for a cardiopulmonary bypass. The easily referenced information and reminders, not currently readily available in any other publication, can be used to influence a plan and form an essential resource for perfusionists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, and other clinicians caring for patients with CHD. This practical, spiral bound, go-to reference is designed to answer the most frequently posed questions about bypass for CHD, the surgical treatment of which is often complicated, with some conditions seen only rarely in practice.

This edition, as in the previous three, are expanded and updated. Of note, the title was changed to include “Mechanical Support” in consideration of the expanding use of ventricular assist devices and pulmonary support. There are two chapters divided into short-term and long-term applications. Another change was a new history chapter on the development of cardiopulmonary bypass in which the authors feature well-known pioneers and three key components—namely, pumps, oxygenators, and heat exchangers. A table lists major developments chronologically from 1951 to 1955. All chapters have sections entitled, “Key points” to aid the reader, and there is another feature that allows purchasers to download the entire contents of the book with “enhanced navigation”, searching capability, highlighting tools, and quick tabbing for saving favorite content. What an innovation!

This is a memoir by a British surgeon who reportedly performed 11,000 surgeries over his career. The target audience seems to be the lay public as he recounts many dramatic patient experiences—the good, the bad, and the miraculous. He was one of those who pioneered artificial heart technology, and as noted in the book jacket, writes with “astonishing compassion and candor.” This is an easy-to-read book as he tells of his mentorship under many famous cardiac surgeons in the US (Drs. John Kirklin, Denton Cooley, Bud Frazier) and the UK (Messrs. Roy Calne, Donald Ross) and others. Under his productivity with colleagues at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, that program grew from 100 cases in 1986 to more than 2,000 in 2000. There are few technical details about cardiopulmonary bypass but instead the focus of the book is on the surgeon’s exploits.

This British author recounts in compelling detail all the major events (for example, descriptions of early extracorporeal circulation devices by physiologists in the 19th century and the discovery of heparin reported in 1918) leading up to the first successful use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) by Dr. J.H. Gibbon, Jr. in May 1953. In fact, the text includes little-known anecdotes surrounding the more well-known events that made CPB a clinical reality. For example, he reports the first successful use of extracorporeal circulation was by the Russian scientist, Sergei S. Brukhonenko in 1925 when he kept severed dogs’ heads “alive” by use of his “autojector” apparatus. Brukhonenko even predicted the use of his machine might enable operations on humans a decade before Dr. Gibbon’s cat experiments to occlude the pulmonary artery. However, the outbreak of World War II prevented the Russian from undertaking any clinical applications. Other fascinating stories are told such as how Dr. Gibbon obtained purified heparin for his animal experiments from scientists in Toronto, who really invented the roller pump, and the pioneering use of hypothermia by Dr. Wilfred Bigelow. The operation on Cecelia Bavolek in May 1953 is told, again, with amazing details not previously well-known, such as the recruitment of medical students to donate fresh whole blood the morning of surgery to prime the heart-lung machine. This surgical accomplishment, as everyone knows, is considered the single greatest event in the development of cardiac surgery. The author has carefully researched and reported on what he deems the most important 11 operations in the history of cardiac surgery. The text is supplemented by many historical photographs, and this book is a wonderful addition to those interested in the history of cardiac surgery and CPB.

This is an academic work from a Canadian professor of history who admits to her interest in medical artifacts to explore history. Dr. McKellar was first introduced to artificial hearts through Project Bionics, a collaborative history project of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs, the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. Besides telling of the early surgeons who developed the technology and the famous cases that were widely publicized, she addresses the costs, controversies, and complications that still prevent more widespread adoption of artificial hearts. There are some well-chosen photographs (some in color) and extensive notes for material cited within the text. This book will likely be of moderate interest to perfusionists.

An award-winning journalist from Texas Monthly magazine writes primarily about work in Houston by Drs. DeBakey, Cooley, and Frazier on mechanical hearts. The text is enjoyable to read, and there are some amazing photographs of surgeons, patients, and team members who strived obsessively to produce the ultimate artificial organ. The words perfusionist or cardiopulmonary bypass do not appear in the index, but it’s still a fascinating book for those involved on the periphery of new technologies for patients with heart disease.

This is a memoir of the surgeon known to all perfusionists as one who pioneered myocardial protection. Many words of acclaim and a laudatory Foreword entice readers of what is to come as they read his amazing story. There are 27 chapters, many illustrations, an epilogue, a resource list for non-medical readers, and an extensive reference list containing the most important scientific papers on the topic. Dr. Buckberg died the same year this book was published, so in a sense, these are his last words.

According to the book jacket, this book is “part history, part memoir, all completely riveting” as told by a cardiac surgeon and professor of transplantation. It is almost confessional in parts as he honestly reflects when recounting clinical events as he acquired more experience and expertise in his chosen field. For one excruciating case he reports “killing” (his choice of the word) an elderly patient when inserting a central venous line. The story of Dr. John Gibbon’s successful case is retold along with the laboratory work two decades earlier that preceded the achievement. One minor error is he names Dr. Gibbon’s lab assistant “Maylie” and not Maly, which was her commonly used name. The actual operation on Cecelia Bavolek (also misspelled “Cecilia”) is covered in only a few sentences without telling of the documented complications that nearly ended the open-heart case as happened in others performed by Dr. Gibbon.

This is the third in the series of crisis manuals by Leeuwin Press. It consists of a collection of cognitive aids characterized by enumerated actions to guide the perfusionist in crisis management. The manual is written by three anesthesiologists with 60+ years of cardiac anesthesia, ECMO, and perfusion experience, and they worked with perfusionists Pragnesh Joshi, Ann Ngui, Mark Snider, Anton Van Niekerk, Ken Williams, Paul Rodoreda, Kristine Wardle, Warren Pavey, and Ross Baker to simulate the crisis scenarios. The goal of the manual is to minimize error-prone human factors by emphasizing resource management with a print layout based on aviation checklist design. This approach reduces the cognitive load for perfusionists managing a time-critical event. In other words, unnecessary actions are removed from the working memory and only those actions needed to solve problems are utilized. The cover color is a transition from dark to bright red, like venous and arterial blood, designed to catch the eye in a crisis. There is no table of contents. Instead, there is an index of colored tabs and bulleted directives designed to lead the eye quickly to the necessary crisis intervention checklist. This minimalist layout provides an intuitive design that is a cognitive aid in crisis management. The authors state that the interventions were written following evidence-based guidelines, when available. Otherwise, they were supported by references and professional consensus. However, in keeping with the simplistic approach, there are no sources cited. Lastly, the interventions were tested in crisis simulations. The first section, “HEART & GREAT VESSELS”, contains eight crisis checklists including items such as “Aortic Dissections”, “Massive Hemorrhage with Redosternotomy”, and “Poor Venous Return”. “MONITORED PARAMETERS” contains nine crisis checklists such as “Failure to Rewarm”, “Hyperkalemia” and “Malignant Hyperthermia”. “BLOOD COMPONENTS” contains eleven parts with “Bleeding Post Bypass”, “Heparin Resistance”, and “Sickle Cell Disease” being three examples. “EQUIPMENT FAILURE” has six parts such as “Circuit Leak”, “Failure to Oxygenate” and “Sudden Arterial Pump Failure”. “EMERGENCY PROCEDURES” has nine parts such as “Emergency Pump Set Up”, “Oxygenator Change Out” and “Unexpected Circulatory Arrest”. Lastly, “ECMO CIRCUIT PROCEDURES” has nine parts with three examples being “Air in Circuit”, “Clotting in Circuit”, and “Low Flow”. In total there are 55 crisis checklists. Most checklists have an addendum in smaller font with additional information about the effects, causes, and management of each crisis. These addenda are intended to be complementary information to be studied well before any actual crisis occurs. For example, in the “Emergency Pump Set Up” checklist, item 3 says “Complete the four critical attachments (FLOP).” FLOP is an acronym explained in the addendum as 1. Flow probe, 2. Level sensor, 3. Oxygen tubing attached to oxygenator and 4. Pressure monitor (circuit arterial line). Aviation checklists work best when there are two pilots: one flying the plane and the second reading the checklist and performing the trouble shooting. So, this tool would work best in an n+1 perfusion program. The scenarios assume the immediate availability of backup pumps and specific disposables and tubing pack design. The checklists themselves are in bold-face type for easy reading, with large spacing between each step if the reader needs to make notations due to local idiosyncrasies. This will be necessary because the steps are based on the authors’ use of specific disposables and equipment. Other programs may want to make modifications to the specific steps outlined. Lastly, there is no focus on how to avoid these crises, many of which are preventable, from occurring in the first place by using pre-emptive management. However, avoiding a crisis is not the purpose of a manual focused on “managing time-critical events”. There is no comparable perfusion safety-oriented manual or book. Perfusion texts primarily deal with the physiology and techniques of perfusion practice. Sometimes they include short troubleshooting sections, but not to the extent and specificity of this manual. In summary, the manual lives up to its goal of providing cognitive support in a perfusion crisis even though they are rare events. Nevertheless, the manual is likely to be used frequently because it provides material for simulation training, teaching, and crisis-management rehearsal. Ideally it will be used as a training tool, especially for students.

This textbook was expanded from the smaller first edition published in 1993 and included a perfusionist editor (M. Kurusz) who joined the original anesthesiologists and cardiac surgeon in recruiting experts to contribute chapters. Notably, a second history chapter was added to one that appeared in the first edition, which was essentially reprinted from Dr. C.W. Lillehei’s earlier one; the second described the well-known story of the genesis for the idea of a heart-lung machine by Dr. J.H. Gibbon, Jr. followed by one of the most thorough reviews of early extracorporeal experiments in the laboratory, including reproductions of original illustrations with detailed descriptions of how the circuits functioned, and the start of clinical perfusion in the 1950s. There are nine chapters on clinical applications, including conduct, unusual problems, and infrequent uses for specific types of patient pathologies.

This updated edition of the “ECMO Red Book” followed the popularity of the first one published five years earlier. Like the first, it was a “how to do it” guide from the collective experience of contributors involved daily in prolonged extracorporeal cardiopulmonary support. An addendum to the first chapter alluded to a prospective randomized trial for neonatal ECMO in the United Kingdom and the beginnings to expand ECMO use for adult respiratory failure.

The idea for this book was from the Fourth International Brain and Cardiac Surgery Conference held in Oxford in 1996. Its intent was to provide an overview of the impact of cardiac surgery on the brain, causes of problems, and how surgical and anesthetic practice were contributory. Four sections first address the nature of the problem, then monitoring and mechanisms, surgical and anesthetic practice, and lastly, special problems including cardiac transplantation, circulatory support devices, and pediatric cardiac surgery. One chapter written by a perfusionist (M. Kurusz) reviews contemporary equipment used for cardiopulmonary bypass.

A journalist tells the dramatic story of Dr. C. Walton Lillehei, who paved the way for widespread use of the bubble oxygenator for cardiopulmonary bypass after performing a series of remarkable cross-circulation operations for repair of congenital cardiac defects in the 1950s. He also describes the extensive laboratory work that preceded clinical use of pacemakers and artificial heart valves.

A clinical perfusionist, skilled in operation of a heart-lung machine, was also a skilled cartoonist. He dedicated his collection “To perfusionists all over the world”, who undoubtedly can identify with many of the scenes and humorous captions accompanying his drawings.

There are 16 pioneer interview transcripts containing questions and comments posed by the author to the interviewees. Many previously unreported anecdotes emerge from these dialogues, and there are important details on development of the pacemaker, roller pump, intra-aortic balloon pump, cardiac assist devices, and the artificial heart.

These two massive volumes (1,938 pages, not including the index), by five renowned cardiac surgeons, are the product of an extraordinary update on the original definitive text by Drs. Kirklin and Barratt-Boyes first published in 1986. All chapters deal with every conceivable cardiac condition, historical context, morphology, natural history of the disease, operations, and results. Of most interest for perfusionists is Chapter 2 entitled, “Hypothermia, Circulatory Arrest, and Cardiopulmonary Bypass” (64 pages with 22 pages of references). The word perfusionist does not appear in the index, but it is used a few times in this chapter in an acknowledgement of their expertise, along with that of the anesthesiologist, which the authors suggest “should allow adaptation to the surgical situation while ensuring the greatest possible safety for the patient.”

Once again, progress in the field mandated an update to the two earlier versions of this text aimed primarily at cardiac anesthesiologists. An updated chapter on cardiopulmonary bypass circuit design and use was authored by three perfusionists (M. Kurusz, A.H. Stammers, J. Toomasian). While still claiming to be a “pocket-sized” reference, the bulk might be better accommodated in a backpack or hand-carried, if possible. Key references are highlighted in bold font at the end of chapters.

This dramatic storytelling comes from an award-winning journalist with a flair for words not typically found in clinical textbooks. While some patients’ names and details of their hospitalizations have been purposely deidentified, the key figure in the stories is a real pediatric cardiac surgeon, Dr. Roger Mee, practicing at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Readers are drawn into the triumphs and tragedies of sick children and their families as they face surgery to palliate or cure congenital cardiac afflictions. All members of the surgical team are often forced to put in long hours because of the urgent needs of patients, but it’s only the surgeon who must face the patients’ families to report outcomes. This book is compelling and will be familiar to anyone who has worked in a cardiac operating room.

The authors published this version, which followed the same format of the original manual from 1997 written by clinical perfusionists John Brodie and Ronald Johnson. The text is straightforward and important words and concepts are highlighted. Many drawings and tables add useful information for practicing perfusionists, perfusion students, and others who work with open-heart surgery patients. No references accompany the chapters indicating the material is based on the authors’ personal experience, accumulated information from varying sources, and prevailing beliefs held by perfusionists. There is, however, a two-page bibliography of relevant books on cardiac surgery and perfusion. Appendices include a list of perfusion educational programs, normal laboratory values, formulas and nomograms, and manufacturer and product information.

During cardiothoracic surgery for adults and children—for myocardial revascularization, valve repair or replacement, correction of congenital defects, cardiac transplantation, implantation of mechanical circulatory support, and major aortic surgery, a wide variety of methods have been used to protect the heart when it is temporarily deprived of blood flow. This text addresses those methods in this comprehensive text. The contributors explain how they manage it and report their results. Preconditioning, continuous coronary perfusion, use of warm or cold temperatures, antegrade or retrograde, crystalloid- or blood-based solutions, primary surgery or redo surgery, intermittent aortic cross-clamping, beating heart or arrested heart—it is all here. Chapter 1 succinctly recounts the history of myocardial protection that began in the era of experimental physiologists in the 19th century, including Sydney Ringer. The first surgeon to use elective cardiac arrest was Mr. Denis Melrose in the mid-1950s, but readers learn his use of potassium to stop the heart in diastole was intended to reduce the risk of air embolism and not to protect the heart. The specter of “stone heart” was described by Cooley in the 1960s after prolonged ischemic arrest. The 1970s saw a resurgence of cardioplegia techniques, and this book is the definitive collection on the topic, but for perfusionists it regrettably does not describe details of devices and methodology for delivery of cardioplegia.

This magnificent text is from one of the world’s leading pediatric cardiac surgeons. Importantly, one entire section with five chapters is authored by his perfusion team to describe their cardiopulmonary bypass practices—hardware, priming solutions, blood gas management, hypothermia with reduced flow or circulatory arrest, and myocardial protection. The two other sections provide background on anesthesia and postoperative care and surgical approaches for a variety of congenital cardiac anomalies. The figures drawn by Rebekah Dodson are remarkable and show exactly what is done surgically for correction or palliation in infants and children.

This compendium contains superbly written chapters on early experiences with rudimentary heart-lung machines, the pioneering perfusionists who assembled and operated them, and documents the development of cardiac surgical programs at major centers in Canadian provinces. There is a chapter by one of the early pioneering perfusionists, James MacDonald, who graciously pays tribute to the contributions of his many colleagues while recounting his experiences first at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and then at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario. No part of history is left out—from monkey lung oxygenators to hypothermia in the 1950s to speculations on future trends in the 21st century.

Chapters that appeared in previous editions of the “ECMO Red Book” have been updated,and ten new chapters are added. For ECMO specialists, respiratory therapists, and perfusionists charged with hourly management and monitoring of the extracorporeal circuit there is an excellent chapter on the equipment and devices used for this remarkable medical technology. Another superb chapter addresses safety issues by drawing a distinction between system versus individual errors and highlights the ongoing need to maintain team competence. The value of the ELSO Registry is described, and there is a chapter on legal considerations. All chapters, as before, contain many figures, summaries, and pertinent references. The editors dedicated this edition to the “father” of ECMO, Dr. Robert H. Bartlett, who they deem as the critical care physician.

This is a biography about a cardiac surgeon’s training with pioneers Drs. Clarence Dennis and C. Walton Lillehei and his own subsequent contributions, which included hemodilution perfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass, an experimental artificial heart, bioprosthetic heart valves, and major organ transplantation.

This massive (1,276 pages) textbook updates previous editions with an emphasis to inform cardiac anesthesiologists. All chapters are written by physicians or PhD-level professors in academic settings. There is a whole section with four chapters on extracorporeal circulation, the first of which contains a minor historical error insofar as Dr. John Gibbon’s successful case in 1953 is reported as surgery for mitral stenosis instead of closure of a secundum atrial septal defect. That chapter alone has >400 references, and all chapters are chock-full of illustrations, tables, and photographs. To aid readers, each chapter contains key points, much like a scientific abstract, that serve to alert readers of what follows.

This meticulously researched and illustrated biography covers all the important contributions of the “Father of Artificial Organs.” There are direct quotations from the subject and some of those who worked with him and a detailed recounting of animal and human artificial heart implants.

This book describes the dramatic competition to perform the first human heart transplant by surgeons on two continents. It contains details not previously well-known surrounding these efforts and the aftermath initially characterized by exuberance followed by despair as most patients died within weeks after receiving a new heart.

This biography contains details of the controversial but pioneering cross-circulation experience at the University of Minnesota in the mid-1950s. It has chapters on the development and clinical use of heart-lung machines, artificial heart valves, cardiac transplantation, and the total artificial heart. In telling the story, the author acknowledges the major contributions of other pioneering cardiac surgeons. He has done his research and provides clarifications on dates and accepted claims of priority by some surgeons, not the least of which is Dr. John Gibbon, Jr. and adds fascinating new evidence to the stories uncritically repeated so many times since the events unfolded. This is a must read if one wishes to learn of the “true history” as claimed in the title of this book. Also true to its title, this book includes Dr. Lillehei’s curriculum vitae and lists his >650 scientific publications.

The author recounts the first clinical uses of mechanical circulatory assist and the controversial total artificial heart implant at Texas Heart Institute on Good Friday in April 1969.

This is a curious historical treatise on, true to its title, the heart. The Foreword is written by Sir Magdi Yacoub, who admits, “Watching the heart beating during a cardiac operation can be mesmerizing…” The chapters begin with the Egyptians, who we are told always kept the heart inside the deceased’s chest so it could be weighed by the gods to judge whether the person was suitable for the afterlife. There is even a chapter on Elvis Presley and the story of “Heartbreak Hotel.” The last chapter, not surprisingly, concerns the artificial heart. The contents of this book arose from an exhibit at the Wellcome Collection in London. It is printed on heavy stock and illustrated with superb figures, many in color. Another fascinating inclusion is transcripts of interviews with surgeons and their patients who underwent cardiac transplantation.

The authors are clinical perfusionists at a busy, well-known center, New York Presbyterian/Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. Chapters written mostly by physicians or PhDs address 12 relevant topics, but by no means is this book comprehensive for the many aspects of cardiopulmonary bypass. There are some perfusionist authors (K.A. Charette, E. Darling, J. Markham, D.Y. Park, B. Searles) in addition to the editors, and they are purposely paired with cardiac surgeons as co-authors to emphasize the team approach. There is no history chapter because the focus is on clinical practice. In fact, nearly half of the book’s pages consists of Policy and Procedure Guidelines as used at the editors’ institution. These cover special procedures, daily routine procedures, pathologies, ventricular assist, and pediatrics. Members of the perfusion team at the time of publication are listed; all were Certified Clinical Perfusionists. The benefit of the book, as expressed in the Preface, is to share guides with readers to enhance patient care.

This contains transcripts of 38 wonderful interviews of pioneering cardiac surgeons who made important contributions to the development of cardiac surgery as a specialty. There is a chapter entitled, “A Short History of Cardiac Surgery” that sets the stage for the later developments chronicled by the pioneers. Sections are arranged by types of surgery, and one is devoted to cardiac transplantation and the artificial heart.

This volume expands and updates the previous editions of this textbook. A clinical perfusionist served as one of the editors (A.H. Stammers) and a cardiac surgeon (R.M. Ungerleider) replaced the late Dr. Joe R. Utley. The two history chapters that appeared in the second edition are retained, as are the conventional sections on equipment; physiology and pathophysiology; hematology; clinical applications; and neonates, infants, and children, the last of which was greatly expanded. Two new chapters on safety and teamwork are included, and the growing use of so-called minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation has its own new chapter. The book remains a comprehensive source of clinical information with exposition of underlying basic scientific principles.

This latest tome was published just four years after the third edition and is once again expanded and updated from the previous volumes. It is a hefty book, measuring 7-inches by 10-inches and is 1.5-inches thick—impractical for fitting in one’s lab coat pocket. The editors have maintained the outline format with liberal use of figures and tables. As is so often the case, there are just a few perfusionist authors (N. Brindisi, M. Kurusz, A.H. Stammers) while most of the others are cardiac anesthesiologists and cardiac surgeons.

This is a laudatory biography of a man who came from a humble background and became a physician educated at the University of Minnesota during the so-called golden era when Dr. C.W. Lillehei and others were innovating for the emerging field of cardiac surgery. Dr. Kletschka is perhaps best known for inventing the centrifugal blood pump, which he envisioned as an implantable artificial heart. Instead, it found wide use as an alternative to the familiar roller pump during cardiopulmonary bypass. The author struggled to find funding to commercialize the pump, and he eventually earned a law degree and wrote a treatise on human life relying on scientific, legal, and moral certainties. This is a fascinating portrait of a most unusual man, the boy who graduated from Brainerd High School and was, indubitably, a qualified brainard.

This is a primer for perfusionists written mostly by United Kingdom contributors. This book is reasonably detailed and includes chapters on circuit setup, conduct of cardiopulmonary bypass, myocardial protection, cerebral morbidity, and ECMO. At just 200 pages, this paperback could serve as a pump-side resource for the seasoned perfusionist or as an introductory guide to newcomers of the subject. In lieu of references, each chapter ends with a list of “Further Suggested Readings.”