A single stage catheter which is used in open heart surgery to by-pass blood from the heart to a life support machine. The single stage catheter has a spiral lead flute for insertion into the inferior vena cava of the heart and a root section with multiple openings to be positioned in the right atrium of the heart. The flutes of the spiral lead to small quadrant openings in the end of the root section which also has long and short axial slot openings leading to the interior of the catheter. An obturator is designed to block the long and short axial slots during insertion to allow flow only through the quadrant openings to the interior of the obturator.