The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 46, 462-464, Copyright © 1988 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for noncardiogenic pulmonary edema after coronary bypass surgery
NM Katz, BJ Buchholz, E Howard, J O'Connell, K DePellegrini and RB Wallace
Department of Surgery, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20007.
A 71-year-old woman with noncardiogenic acute pulmonary edema early after
having a coronary operation was treated with venovenous extracorporeal
membrane oxygenation for uncontrollable hypoxia. Adequate oxygenation was
achieved, the rapid deterioration of her condition was reversed, and
ventilatory settings could be moderated. Two and a half days later, the
patient was weaned from the system. At the time of this writing, the
patient was in her sixth postoperative month and doing well. Details of
this fairly simple but powerful technique are described.