Perioperative weight gain caused by edema is associated with increased morbidity and mortality; a weight gain > 20% of the body weight being uniformly fatal. Pulmonary edema can result in circulatory and respiratory failure. Cerebral edema can result in brain damage. Whole body edema can result in multiple organ failure. The increased morbidity and mortality associated with edema can be related to changes in the oxygen pressure field caused by a reduction in perfused capillary density.
Perfusion Theory is an educational platform for the Oxygen Pressure Field Theory (OPFT). August Krogh’s theoretical concept of the oxygen pressure field is explained and then applied to clinical applications in perfusion practice.