“Hibernation” aid to baby heart surgery

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32847, 22 February 1972, Page 2

“Hibernation” aid to baby heart surgery

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, February 21. New Zealand heart specialists are using a form of induced “hibernation” to enable major heart surgery on new-born babies.

Many practical developments of the technique—devised by Japanese specialists—have been pioneered by New Zealand doctors.

The technique, known as profound hypothermia, has been used on more than 110 New Zealand babies in the last three years. Basically, the technique involves lowering of babies’ body temperature to 20 degrees (68F) and pumping out blood. Babies can remain in this state for an hour while surgery is carried out. As one doctor puts it, the system is not unlike hibernation in bears.

Normal human body temperature is 37deg (98.4 F The technique has been used in New Zealand, Australia and‘the United States on children aged between two days and two years. It

allows heart surgeons to perform complicated heart operations that were previously almost impossible. In Auckland today, heart specialists from all over the world met to discuss advances in this and other aspects of heart surgery. The symposium, at Green Lane Hospital, will continue until Friday, and more than 40 specialists will take part. An Australian heart surgeon, Dr T. B. Cartmill, said today that a great deal of work to perfect the technique had been done at Green Lane Hospital—specialists had done much “follow up” work on babies treated this way to see how they were affected later. TEST RESULTS Close tests on New Zealand patients had shown there appeared to be no illeffects from the technique. No brain damage had resulted from the “freezing” and children who had been operated on were now progressing normally. Dr Cartmill said that about 50 children in Australia had undergone similar treatment in the last two years. New Zealand specialists have used slightly different methods to induce “hibernation.” In Australia and the

United States heart-lung machines with cooling devices have been used. In New Zealand, doctors have been using “ice blankets” in initial cooling, and later switching to heart-lung machines.

Under this system children are packed in iceimpregnated blankets until body temperature falls to 20 degrees Celsius. The symposium on heart disease surgery is being financed by the New Zealand Heart Foundation and the Auckland University Postgraduate Medical committee.