• Guillaume Lebreton, Bruno Sanchez, Jean-Luc Hennequin, Dabor Resière, Didier Hommel, Christian Léonard, Hossein Mehdaoui, and François Roques.
• Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Fort-de-France University Hospital, Martinique, France. guillaumelebreton@live.fr
• Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2012 Sep 1;15(3):420-5.

ObjectivesWe report the assessment and the activities for the first year of our airborne circulatory support mobile unit (CSMU) in the French Caribbean.MethodsFrom January 2010 to June 2011, 12 patients (mean age = 35.7 years; range: 15-62 years; sex ratio = 1:1) were attended outside Martinique by our CSMU and transferred to our unit by air.ResultsEight patients had acute respiratory distress syndrome and were assisted by veno-venous extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) four had refractory cardiogenic shock, assisted by extra corporeal life support (ECLS). The average air transfer distance for patients was 912 km (range: 198-1585 km). The average flying time was 124 min (range: 45-255 min). The aircraft used were helicopter, military transport or private jet. The setting-up of assistance devices and transfer of patients was uneventful. One patient subsequently benefited from heart transplantation after long-term circulatory support. One patient died under ECMO support after 51 days of assistance and another died on the 60th day after withdrawal of ECLS.ConclusionsCSMUs can be very efficient in providing support to patients in refractory shock, when remote from a cardiac surgery centre. The airborne transfer of patients on ECMO/ECLS can be achieved safely, even over long distances.

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