Intraoperative ECMO and the possibility of postoperative prolongation improve survival in bilateral lung transplantation

The value of intraoperative ECMO in lung transplantation remains controversial. In our department, ECMO has been used routinely for intraoperatively unstable patients since more than 15 years. Recently, we have extended its indication to a preemptive application in almost all cases. In addition, we prolong ECMO into the early postoperative period, whenever graft function does not meet certain quality criteria or in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. The objective of this study was to review the results of this strategy.

from ! Medicine by Alexandros G. Sfakianakis via als.fakia on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2jqEchp
via IFTTT