• Mauer Biscotti, Cara Agerstrand, Darryl Abrams, Mark Ginsburg, Joshua Sonett, Linda Mongero, Hiroo Takayama, Daniel Brodie, and Matthew Bacchetta.
• Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York.
• Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2015 Jul 1; 100 (1): 34-9; discussion 39-40.

BackgroundExtracorporeal life support technology has gained acceptance as a salvage mode for patients in respiratory or cardiac failure. Patients who are sick enough to require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support are often too unstable for transfer to a hospital with ECMO capabilities. We highlight the progressive development of an ECMO transport team and the manner in which it provides reliable transport with excellent outcomes.MethodsAll data were collected retrospectively from our hospital's electronic medical record. Patient outcomes are reported through April 2, 2014.ResultsOur institution began an ECMO transport program in 2008, with the initial phase involving transport of highly selected patients for short distances. With experience we refined our intake and evaluation process. We also consolidated care for ECMO patients into two intensive care units and developed a dedicated ECMO intensivist position. As the program has matured, patient selection has become more inclusive and we have extended our capabilities to include interstate and international transport. All 100 patients were successfully placed on ECMO and transported to our center. Seventy-nine patients were placed on venovenous ECMO, 19 on venoarterial ECMO, and 2 on venovenous arterial ECMO. The median transport distance was 16 miles and ranged from 2.5 to 7,084 miles.ConclusionsExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation transport can be performed safely and reliably with excellent outcomes with a dedicated team that maintains stringent adherence to well-designed management protocols.Copyright © 2015 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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