Cooling catheter for spinal cord preservation in thoracic aortic surgery
R.M.A.MOOMIAIE, J.RANSDEN, J.STEIN, J.STRUGAR, Q.B.ZHU, J.H.KIM, J.A.ELEFTERIADES
J CARDIOVASC SURG, 2007
A self-contained catheter designed to cool the spinal cord topically after being threaded into the spinal column was tested in five adult sheep. core body temperature and spinal cord temperature in both active cooling and passive re-warming cycles were monitored. In four sheep, (five attempted implants, with one failure), the catheter worked without problem. There was no evidence of damage to the spinal cord from hypothermia. Effective topical cooling of the spinal cord can be achieved via a specially designed, self-contained cooling catheter placed into the intra-thecal space.