Who is the Bad Guy in Perfusion Technologies? Priming Volume, Blood Air Interaction or Pump Type: A Prospective, Randomized Trial of Three Different Techniques

Objectives: Minimal extracorporeal circulation techniques or circuits (MECC) may reduce the side effects of conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC). However, it is unclear how much of this reduction is caused by reducing priming volume and hemodilution or by avoiding blood-air contact and dispersion of mediastinal debris into the systemic circulation.