Femoral artery cannulation is the most commonly used approach for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in robotic cardiac procedures. However, without adding a distal perfusion cannula, leg ischemia can occur in up to 11.5% of patients. There is a well-described 2 to 4 mm size arterial branch that originates from the medial side of the external iliac artery or inferior epigastric artery, immediately above the inguinal ligament, and connects to the obturator artery. Therefore, it was historically named the corona mortis, which means “crown of death” in Latin. When peripheral cannulation is performed above this branch in the external iliac artery, we consider it a corona “vitae” because of its role as a limb-saving collateral. We report herein our standard technique of peripheral cannulation without the need of a distal perfusion cannula and preventing limb ischemia.

We included all patients who underwent robotic cardiac surgery with peripheral cannulation over a 16-month period at our institution. We cannulated just above the level of the inguinal ligament through a 2 to 3 cm transverse skin incision. The incidence of limb ischemia and vascular complications was recorded and analyzed.

During the study period, 133 patients underwent robotic cardiac procedures with peripheral “external iliac” CPB. The size of the cannula was 21F or larger in 73% and 23F in 54% of the patients. No leg ischemia or femoral artery complications requiring additional intervention occurred.

External iliac cannulation can be successfully performed in robot-assisted cardiac surgery using relatively large cannulas without the need of a distal limb perfusion catheter, with good results. In our view, given the importance of the corona mortis (“crown of death” in Latin) in perfusing the limb during CPB, we propose a new name for this artery in robotic cardiac surgery, namely, the corona vitae (“crown of life” in Latin).