Transcripts
DR. CORNEL:
We made the decision that we
would go with extra corporeal membrane
oxygenation or ECMO. It has been shown to be
effective in rescuing children with acute
cardiomyopathies when they are not due to cardiac
surgery. And, as I say, we knew we could do
it.
ECMO is a procedure designed
originally to replace lung function but it can
be modified to replace heart and lung function.
Blood is drained from large
veins or from heart chambers, it is passed
through an artificial lung, (a membrane
oxygenator) and then pumped back into the
patient. It can be modified to support the
heart.
The disadvantages are that it is
a very invasive procedure, as I will tell you.
It damages blood and it requires a high level of
anticoagulation with heparin. But it is
effective for short-term rescue and there are
several studies on small numbers of patients
showing that.
