Shunt control of bleeding after homograft replacement of the ascending aorta

Homograft replacement of the ascending aorta with replacement of the coronary arteries often is accompanied by significant postoperative bleeding from the suture lines that often requires a second exploratory operation. These events occur despite a meticulous operative technique and pharmacologic hemostatic agents. We used hemostatic material to cover the homograft as patch to create a watertight seal and placed a left-to-right shunt to control bleeding.