Venous cannulation

Venous cannulation

A single purse-string suture is placed around the right atrial appendage and a single ‘two-stage’ venous cannula is placed to establish venous drainage. The venous pipe has end holes that sit in the inferior vena cava and side holes that sit in the right atrium (to drain from the superior vena cava). Alternatively , the superior and inferior venae cavae may be cannulated separately to gain better control over the venous return and facilitate operating on structures in the right ventricle or atrium (‘bicaval’ cannulation). V enous drainage from the femoral vein can o ff er an alternative, particularly during thoracic aortic or minimally invasive procedures.