Grant: Idea to Innovation

Accumulation of fluid is a normal consequence of cardiac surgeries such as Bentall surgery, valvular replacement, coronary artery bypass graft procedure and aortic surgical procedures. To remove this fluid, drainage catheters are usually inserted, post-op, in the pericardial space for a period of up to five days. The current drainage catheters are stiff/rigid, painful, impede on patient mobility. Moreover, they need to be changed frequently during the post-op period. Also, even with these catheters, the accumulation of fluid can result into compression of the venus return, leading to cardiac tamponade, a severe even fatal complication. The prevalence of this tamponade ranges from 5-7%. The catheter developed by Pr. Garon and Dr. Carrier proposes to reduce the prevalence of tamponade. Its design has been optimized to improve the drainage. It is composed of three collector heads which offer a full drainage of the heart surrounding area from a single external tube. Finally, the catheter is built from soft materials thus minimizing the patient discomfort, reducing the need to change the catheters, and improving the patient mobility. By addressing the main shortcomings of other drainage catheters, higher volume drainage is aimed at reducing the tamponade incidence to low and acceptable levels.