Weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass, decannulation, and closure

In 1952, John Gibbon performed the first successful cardiac procedure using cardiopulmonary bypass, which turned out to be one of the most important clinical advances of that year. Cardiopulmonary bypass has also been described as "One of the most impressive evidences of the role of investigative surgery in the history of medicine in the persevering efforts of Dr. Gibbon for more than 20 years, which finally culminated in a practical heart-lung machine," at the first John H. Gibbon, Jr, Lecture at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons [1]. Due to the subsequent advancement of cardiopulmonary bypass, many patients with complex heart disease requiring surgical care undergo cardiac surgery while the other organs remain adequately oxygenated and perfused.