Pulmonary Arteriography in the Operating Room

¹ Marshfield Clinic Foundation for Medical Research and Education and the Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin

Before a procedure of the magnitude of pulmonary embolectomy is undertaken, the diagnosis should always be confirmed by pulmonary arteriography. One attempt to initiate partial cardiopulmonary bypass for the support of the patient in the department of radiology convinced us the operation should be performed in the operating room. We have, therefore, devised a technique by which the patient is brought to the operating room, placed on partial bypass, and the pulmonary arteriogram obtained on the operating table. The advantages are obvious and numerous.