• Albert Youngwoo Jang, Young Jun Oh, Seok In Lee, Oh Kyung Lim, and Soon Yong Suh.
• Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, 1198 Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, 405-760, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
• Bmc Cardiovasc Disor. 2020 Aug 27; 20 (1): 393.

BackgroundAlthough life-threatening complications of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are well described, non-life threatening complications are less known. Herein, we report a case of femoral neuropathy (FN) due to nerve compression caused by cannula compression and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after successful ECMO therapy, which seriously undermined one's quality of life.Case PresentationA 70-year old male presented to the emergency department for chest pain. The patient had cardiac arrest before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and was inserted with ECMO. Although he was successfully weaned from ECMO 4 days after PCI, he consistently complained swelling, abnormal sensation, and weakness in his right lower extremity, where the cannulas were inserted. Imaging studies showed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right leg, which was further treated with anticoagulants. Symptoms, however, remained after the regression of DVT. Nerve conduction study revealed femoral neuropathy, which may have been caused by ECMO cannula compression and tissue swelling.ConclusionThe current case proposes that non-life threatening complications of ECMO therapy can seriously affect quality of life. Venous drainage distant from the arterial cannula may prevent such complications.

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