Abstract: Apparatus for assisting a surgeon in procedures involving the heart and methods of employing such apparatus are provided. The apparatus can include a pump, and a first fluid conduit having a distal end adapted to be inserted into the superior vena cava of a beating heart, a second fluid conduit having a distal end adapted to be inserted into the inferior vena cava, and a third fluid conduit having a distal end adapted to be inserted into the pulmonary artery of the beating heart, each in liquid fluid communication with the pump, which in combination can be operatively positioned to form a closed cardiac pathway extending from the vena cavae and to the pulmonary artery to thereby convey blood collected from the vena cavae into the pulmonary artery, operatively bypassing the right side of the heart.