Microcirculatory perfusion shift in the gut wall layers induced by extracorporeal circulation.

Objective: Extracorporeal circulation (ECC) is regularly applied to maintain organ perfusion during major aortic and cardiovascular surgery. During thoracoabdominal aortic repair, ECC-driven selective visceral arterial perfusion (SVP) results in changed microcirculatory perfusion (shift from the muscularis toward the mucosal small intestinal layer) in conjunction with macrohemodynamic hypoperfusion. The underlying mechanism, however, is unclear.