During surgery, a Cell Saver® machine collects lost blood, which is then filtered and re-infused back into the patient. 

Intra-operative Strategies:
Some of the more common operative strategies include:
 

• Acute Normovolemic Hemodilution — blood conservation employed during surgery whereby the patient’s circulatory system is diluted to minimize blood loss.
• Volume Expanders — non-blood fluids that are used to enhance circulation.
• Drugs that enhance hemostasis --medications can be given to promote clotting of the blood to stop bleeding
• Blood salvaging (Cell Saver®) — the recovery of blood that spills in the chest or abdominal cavity during surgery or into drains after surgery. The blood is collected using a Cell Saver® machine, filtered and the red cells are re-infused back into the patient.
• Controlled hypotension -- the patient's blood pressure is puposely lowed to reduce surgical bleeding.
• Avoidance of hypothermia -- since normal body temperature is necessary for platelet function, the temperature of the patient is kept from going too low.  If hypothermia is necessary, it is precisely controlled and quickly reversed after surgery.
• Precise Techniques — extra caution and deliberate operative techniques, such as avoiding small cuts, immediate clamping and cauterizing of bleeding vessels, etc.

Choice of Instruments — many types of surgical instruments now have features that help stop bleeding, such as surgical lasers, The Harmonic Scapel ®, electrocautery and argon beam coagulators, just to name a few. These instruments cause less blood loss than traditional cutting scalpels by sealing blood vessels while cutting through tissue.

The Argon Beam Coagulator helps to stop bleeding during surgery.

Minimally Invasive Surgery — performing surgery through smaller incisions with the use of scopes for visualization.

Laparoscopic Surgery — surgery using small incisions to minimize blood loss.