Left Ventricular Vent Catheter
Left Ventricular Vent · LV Vent · Left Heart Vent Catheter · Left Heart Vent · Sump Vent Catheter
A long, clear, flexible catheter with many small side holes near a rounded tip and depth marks along its length. Many come with a malleable introducer inside to shape and guide it.
On the table
What it does, the lengths it comes in and what experienced techs know about it.
What it’s for
Drains blood that collects in the left ventricleLEFT VEN-trih-kulThe heart's lower left chamber, which pumps oxygen-rich blood into the aorta and out to the body.Full entry during cardiopulmonarykar-dee-oh-PUL-muh-nair-eeRelating to the heart and lungs together.cardi/o heartpulmon/o lung-ary relating toFull entry bypass so the heart does not stretch and the field stays dry. It is usually placed through a purse-string in the right superior pulmonary veinPUL-muh-nair-ee VAYNOne of the four veins that carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart.Full entry , guided into the left ventricle, and connected to a suction line from the pump. It also helps remove air from the heart before the cross-clamp comes off; after deairing it is turned down and then removed before weaning from bypass.
Lengths and variants
Common sizes run from about 10 to 20 Fr; the AST technique uses a 20 Fr catheter.
What experienced techs know
What techs who reach for it every day know about it.Pro
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- After the case
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2 sources
- AST. Surgical Technology for the Surgical Technologist. 4th ed. Chapter 22 (Cardiothoracic Surgery), p. 1043
- pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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