[Present status and future observation of membrane oxygenator].

The oxygenator has been developed as the most important tools for open heart surgery as a part of pump-oxygenator. Recently, two kinds of them are routinely selected. One is the bubble oxygenator (BO) and the other is the membrane oxygenator (MO). The latter is recognized as the most physiological and similar to the human lung. It is proved by many researchers that the denaturation of the blood elements is less in the MO compare with the BO even it is used for short period such as open heart surgery. The more hospitals and institutes have been taking more MO than BO. Microporous membrane and dense (silicone) membrane are used for MO. Combination of the both membranes is also considerable now. Hollow fiber (capillary) type MO is getting more than plate or coil type. ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) is gradually developed as characteristic application of MO. ECMO is one type of assisted circulation by means of MO and is applied for acute respiratory failure (in original sense) and for acute cardio-respiratory failure (in wide sense). Earlier application for acute respiratory failure of neonate and children should be considered expecting with better results now. Bridge use for heart transplantation would be considered in future.