Our Services

Clinical Perfusionists are responsible for operating extracorporeal circulation equipment, locally the heart-lung machine, during cardiac surgery or any other surgical procedure in which it is necessary to artificially support or temporarily replace a patient’s circulatory and respiratory function. Perfusionists are on-call outside working hours in case of emergencies such as aortic aneurysms, aortic dissection and other cardiothoracic emergencies.

The heart lung machine, operated by the Clinical Perfusionist, takes over the function of the lungs and the heart during procedures that require cessation of the lungs and heart function.

Whilst on cardiopulmonary bypass, perfusionists monitor the patient’s physiological parameters via blood gases and maintain blood flow, body temperature, blood chemistry as well as respiratory functions, whereby carbon dioxide and oxygen levels are controlled and adjusted. Since the patient needs to be anticoagulated via administration of heparin, the activated clotting time is also monitored regularly.

Other duties and responsibilities of the perfusionist involve cell salvaging, whereby the patients’ blood that is collected from the sterile operating field, as well as the heart lung machine, is washed, concentrated, bagged and returned to the patient.

Another service provided by perfusionists is Rotational Thromboelastography (ROTEM). The ROTEM machine provides a point-of-care analysis of the viscoelastic properties of clot formation and dissolution. It is useful in acute traumatic coagulopathy, because it includes the contribution of blood cells and provides information about the clot stability, as well as giving an indication of what blood products are required in less than 30 minutes. This service is provided on an on-call basis outside of working hours.

Eligibility

All patients undergoing planned and/or emergency open heart surgery or other operations requiring cardio-pulmonary support.

Back Office Process

The service is provided to all patients booked by the consultant cardiac surgeon for open heart surgery. It is also available for any emergency surgical procedure requiring cardio-pulmonary bypass.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What types of surgeries are you involved with?

Answer: Perfusionists mostly work in open-heart surgery. As well as the aforementioned equipment such as the cell saver and the ROTEM.

Question: How involved are you during the surgery?

Answer: The heart lung machine is next to the patient on the table. When we’re on the heart-lung machine, we’re in constant communication with the surgeon and anesthesiologist.

Question: Could these surgeries be done without you?

Answer: No, Perfusionists are the only people trained to operate the heart/lung machine. Since the heart is stopped via cardioplegia (a solution containing a high potassium concentration), the heart lung machine is required to maintain the patient alive.

How to Contact Us

Our Office

Address

Clinical Perfusion Services
Mater Dei Hospital​​,
MSD 2090

Opening hours​

We are available for surgery and thromboelastography during elective cases, as well as being on-call out of working hours, in order to give a 24/7 service.