Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists

The following material, Anesthesia for Ventricular Assist Device Implantation is the “pilot” chapter of a proposed SCA Manual of Cardiovascular Anesthesia. If the response to this chapter is positive, it is the intention of the SCA to e-publish a comprehensive manual encompassing the field of perioperative cardiovascular care. This would be a living document, published in a “Wiki” like form, open to outside submissions but subject to peer review by appropriate SCA committees (Publication, Electronic Communications). The manual would be available in the members section and it is hoped that it will be seen as a useful member benefit.

Please address any and all feedback on the chapter and the manual to: sca@societyhq.com. We are particularly interested in whether you think an on-line manual of cardiovascular anesthesia would be a useful tool for you and others in the day to day practice of caring for cardiac and vascular surgery patients.

Disclaimer

The practice of anesthesiology is as much “art” as it is science (1). We recognize that there is not one right way of doing things and different methods and techniques may work equally as well as those suggested here. The authors offer this material as a suggested method for conducting anesthesia for a variety of routine and complex cardiac, cardiovascular and thoracic operations in adult patients. The methods chosen have been compiled from “common themes” that comprise manuals and guidelines from the contributing institutions, with significant editing and addition of evidence-based practice as seen and practiced by the authors, We do not imply or suggest that there is consensus on all aspects of this manual.

We have tried to avoid using trade names in this Manual, instead referring to medications and equipment by their generic names. In some cases, generic alternatives do not exist. Mention or discussion of medications, equipment or supplies by either generic or trade name does not represent an endorsement of the product by the SCA.

Sources

The original content of the SCA Manual is derived from manuals that were written at various academic medical centers. We could not possibly include or even review all the existing manuals in existence at member institutions. Most of the manuals contain very similar material and cover the same topics. In fact, the similarity between the manuals far exceeds the dissimilarity. The SCA Manual represents a “blend” of many of these multi-author manuals. Finally, many SCA members reviewed the early versions of the Manual and made significant additions and contributions to the current form. Therefore, we acknowledge and thank all named and anonymous contributors for their efforts.

Paul Kazanjian, MD
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Michael P. Eaton, MD
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY

Disclaimer of all Warranties:

THE SCA MANUAL IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. YOUR USE OF THE MANUAL IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE MANUAL MAY CONTAIN ERRORS AND INACCURACIES AND MAY NOT BE COMPLETE, TIMELY, OR RELIABLE. SCA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT USE OF ITS MANUAL WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE MANUAL OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. SCA AND ALL THOSE INVOLVED IN THE COLLECTION, ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION, AND POSTING OF THE INFORMATION ON THE MANUAL HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES REGARDING THE MANUAL, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

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