Some advantages of the membrane oxygenator for open-heart surgery.

The Lande'-Edwards oxygenator has been used for clinical perfusions on 283 patients. Among these patients we have encountered the full range of congenital and acquired defects and a variance in age from 1 day to adulthood. Data are presented concerning the means and methods of perfusion, the defects involved, and the results of treatment. A comparison has been made between two groups of 20 adults each, one group perfused with a bubble oxygenator (Bently) and the other with the Lande'-Edwards membrane lung. This study showed that platelet function is better preserved by the membrane lung, that hemolysis is less severe, and that postoperative bleeding is reduced. Indirect evidence has been accumulated to suggest that pulmonary, cerebral, and renal function is also better preserved when the membrane lung is employed.