In vitro assessment of the vacuum-assisted venous drainage (VAVD) system: risks and benefits.

The vacuum-assisted venous drainage (VAVD) technique has been introduced with the utilization of small-bore venous cannulae to facilitate minimally invasive cardiac surgery and it has found widespread use for traditional surgical approaches. Although this technique was devised to increase venous return, it may cause a reduction of blood flow through a negative pressure effect on the raceway tubing. In this study, the potential of this system to increase the venous drainage was evaluated in vitro together with the measurements of delivered blood flow.