Standstill operation

Standstill operation is a surgical procedure that involves cooling the body of the patient and stopping blood circulation. It is used to repair brain aneurysms and aortic arch defects.

The procedure requires keeping the patient in a state of hibernation at 15 degrees Celsius with no breathing, heartbeat, or brain activity for up to one hour. Blood is drained from the body to eliminate blood pressure. The patient is considered clinically dead during the operation.

This operation is also known as a hypothermic cardiac standstill. According to ES Connolly, Jr. and RA Solomon:

"Surgical management of giant cerebral aneurysms remains a major technical challenge for modern neurosurgeons. Endovascular approaches for giant aneurysms does not provide an acceptable alternative to direct surgical approaches. The use of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest as an adjunct during clipping of complex giant aneurysms shows promise as a treatment for otherwise incurable lesions. Patient selection and techniques of circulatory arrest surgery are discussed ".

Pop culture references
In the 2005-2006 season of the Grey's Anatomy TV series, doctors performed a standstill operation on Joe, the bar owner from across the street from the hospital. Doctor O'Malley came up with a creative solution to Joe's financial inability to pay for the expensive surgery by declaring that part of the surgery was experimenting on a cadaver, thereby entitling Joe to be paid for allowing his body to be used for the benefit of science.