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Bloodless Medicine & Surgery
Amazing though it may seem, open-heart surgery and other sophisticated cardiac procedures can be done without the use of blood transfusions or blood products through Bridgeport Hospital's Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program.
Why might someone prefer to have procedures performed without blood? There are a number of reasons, including religious beliefs and concern about the safety of receiving blood from a stranger.
Here are some of the modern tools, techniques, and medications that can reduce blood loss, increase blood volume, and make transfusion-free surgery a reality:
- Laparoscopic, or "keyhole," surgery. Some heart procedures can be performed through a small incision, using tiny cameras and surgical tools. Smaller incisions can mean less blood loss.
- Lasers instead of scalpels. Lasers seal blood vessels as they cut, helping maintain safe blood levels.
- Electrocautery. This device, using electrical current to seal vessels cut during surgery, also helps maintain safe blood levels.
- Argon beam coagulator. This device clots blood at incision sites, reducing bleeding.
 Cell saver. This device collects, filters, and returns to the patient blood that would otherwise be lost during surgery. Think of it as recycling the patient's own blood!
- Volume expanders. Intravenous fluids can be given before and during surgery to enhance the patient's own blood. This keeps the blood pressure at a safe level.
- Synthetic erythropoietin. This medication, taken during the month preceding surgery, stimulates the production of extra red blood cells, building up blood levels so the patient can withstand a certain amount of blood loss.
For more information about Bridgeport Hospital's Bloodless Medicine & Surgery Program, and the full range of procedures that can be performed through this program, you may call the program coordinator, David Gonzalez, at 1-866-NOBLOOD (toll free).
Another way to make sure of receiving blood that will be perfectly suited to your body is autologous donation—donating your own blood to be used for your transfusions if needed. If you know you are having elective surgery, in the weeks before your procedure you can come to Bridgeport Hospital's laboratory and donate your blood. It will be labeled and stored to be used only for you. You can donate blood in this way several times, but you must wait for several weeks after each donation before giving blood again.
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