by a perfusionist would consist of reading through a patient’s records to check out the patients history, family history, laboratory tests, cardiology reports and so on. Following this the heart and lung machine needs to be inspected and tested to make sure that it is in proper working order and that the disposables that are used are properly loaded and functional. Next the perfusionist needs to discuss with the surgeon what the needs of the patient may be and also what the needs of the surgeon may be. The perfusionist does this in order to use the correct disposables and correct pump to meet both the demands of the patient and that of the surgeon. After the patient is taken off the heart lung machine (by-pass) the perfusionist is responsible for tearing down his equipment, cleaning up and setting up for his next case. (Nord, Todd)The patient is brought into the surgical suite and the anesthesiologist along with operating room nurse’s prep the patient for surgery. Once the patient is put to sleep the surgeon can begin his portion of the surgery. The chest is opened and the patient is connected to the heart lung machine by the surgeon. Once the patient is connected to the heart lung machine the heart and lungs of the patient are stopped. This is done so that the surgeon has a still field to work on. It is during this time the perfusionist along with the heart lung machine takes over the patient’s circulation and respiration. This is refereed to as extra–corporeal circulation (E.C.C), which is an artificial organ function of the blood. (AACP) The perfusionist must monitor the changing circulatory process along with keeping the surgeon and anesthesiologist updated on the patient’s condition. After the surgery, the perfusionist must provide support to the patients circulation until everything is regulated at which point the patient can be removed from the heart lung machine.Working conditions consi...
