Minimal extracorporeal circulation (MECC) systems have been designed in order to reduce dramatically the side-effects of conventional extracorporeal circulation while serving as a safe perfusion technique for open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The book aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview covering practical advice on how to use MECC systems for those new to the field as well as tips, pitfalls, results, and latest developments. It also offers a systematic review of all published studies on a variety of MECC systems. The book will enable physicians to gain a better understanding of these new systems as well as to understand the rationale for their use in cardiac surgery. MECC requires a multidisciplinary approach, and this book will serve as an essential reference for all health care professionals working in the cardiac surgical operating room, in particular cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthesiologists, and perfusionists
About the Author:

Associate Professor Kyriakos Anastasiadis, MD, DSc, FETCS, FCCP, FESC, graduated from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1991 and then served residencies in General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery in Greece. He was Senior Registrar at the Oxford Heart Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, UK from 2000 to 2002. He received special training in heart failure surgery (LVAD, ECMO) and minimal extracorporeal circulation (MECC) at a variety of hospitals in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom. Dr. Anastasiadis is currently Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is the author of several papers in international and Greek scientific publications and has presented numerous invited lectures and oral presentations at national and international congresses. Dr. Anastasiadis has also played an active role in the organisation of many scientific congresses and is a reviewer for various international journals. He is a member of the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (USA) and a Fellow of the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the European Society of Cardiology.

Polychronis Antonitsis, MD, DSc, graduated from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1998 and then served residencies in General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery in Greece and the UK. He is a Lecturer in Cardiac Surgery at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and currently works as a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. His clinical practice focuses on heart failure surgery and minimal extracorporeal circulation. He is the author of several papers in international and Greek scientific publications and has presented invited lectures and oral presentations at national and international congresses. Dr. Antonitsis is a reviewer for various international journals and is a member of the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Helena Argiriadou, MD, DSc, graduated from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1994 and then had training in General Anesthesia in Greece and Germany. She received special training in Cardiac Anesthesia in Germany, the Netherlands, and France. She is a Lecturer in Anesthesia at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and she currently works as a Consultant Cardiac Anesthesiologist in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. Her clinical practice focuses on anesthesia for heart failure surgery and minimal extracorporeal circulation as well as on intraoperative neuromonitoring. She is the author of several papers in international and Greek scientific publications and has presented invited lectures and oral presentations at national and international congresses. Dr. Argiriadou is a reviewer for various international journals and a member of the European Association for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.

Polychronis Antonitsis, MD, DSc, graduated from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1998 and then served residencies in General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery in Greece and the UK. He is a Lecturer in Cardiac Surgery at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and currently works as a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. His clinical practice focuses on heart failure surgery and minimal extracorporeal circulation. He is the author of several papers in international and Greek scientific publications and has presented invited lectures and oral presentations at national and international congresses. Dr. Antonitsis is a reviewer for various international journals and is a member of the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Helena Argiriadou, MD, DSc, graduated from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1994 and then had training in General Anesthesia in Greece and Germany. She received special training in Cardiac Anesthesia in Germany, the Netherlands, and France. She is a Lecturer in Anesthesia at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and she currently works as a Consultant Cardiac Anesthesiologist in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. Her clinical practice focuses on anesthesia for heart failure surgery and minimal extracorporeal circulation as well as on intraoperative neuromonitoring. She is the author of several papers in international and Greek scientific publications and has presented invited lectures and oral presentations at national and international congresses. Dr. Argiriadou is a reviewer for various international journals and a member of the European Association for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.

Helena Argiriadou, MD, DSc, graduated from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1994 and then had training in General Anesthesia in Greece and Germany. She received special training in Cardiac Anesthesia in Germany, the Netherlands, and France. She is a Lecturer in Anesthesia at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and she currently works as a Consultant Cardiac Anesthesiologist in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. Her clinical practice focuses on anesthesia for heart failure surgery and minimal extracorporeal circulation as well as on intraoperative neuromonitoring. She is the author of several papers in international and Greek scientific publications and has presented invited lectures and oral presentations at national and international congresses. Dr. Argiriadou is a reviewer for various international journals and a member of the European Association for Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.