SEPARATION OF THE NATURAL ATRIA IN EXPERIMENTAL IMPLANTATION OF TOTALARTIFICIAL-HEART

Atrial connections in a single-unit total artificial heart (TAH) may b e difficult to make because of the rigidity of the device and the fixe d position of the atrial inlets. We developed a technique to separate the natural atrial borders in an experimental implantation of a unitar y TAH. In this technique, the interatrial groove was dissected to sepa rate the posterior wall of the right atrium from the roof of the left atrium before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was initiated. After initia tion of CPB and cardiectomy, the atrial septum was separated completel y, and the right atrial wall was reconstructed with glutaraldehyde-tre ated autopericardium. We believe that this simple adjunctive technique provides increased mobility of the atrial cuffs and allows for an eas ier connection of the unitary TAH.