Controlled Clinical Death
Certain surgeries for cerebral aneurysms or aortic arch defects require that blood circulation be stopped while repairs are performed. This deliberate temporary induction of clinical death is called circulatory arrest. It is typically performed by lowering body temperature to 18°C (64 °F) – 20°C (68 °F) and stopping the heart and lungs. This state is called deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. At such low temperatures most patients can tolerate the clinically dead state for up to 30 minutes without incurring significant brain injury. Longer durations are possible at lower temperatures, but the usefulness of longer procedures has not been established yet.
Controlled clinical death has also been proposed as a treatment for exsanguinating trauma to create time for surgical repair.
Read more about this topic: Clinical Death
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