The Thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Dec 1992
Multicenter StudyExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for neonatal respiratory failure.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been a successful treatment (82% survival) in over 5000 neonates with severe respiratory failure (80% predicted mortality without ECMO). ECMO is prolonged extracorporeal cardiopulmonary bypass achieved by extrathoracic vascular cannulation using a modified heart-lung machine. ECMO is currently the treatment of choice for full-term newborns with severe respiratory failure. The report summarizes indications, resulting complications, and future applications of neonatal ECMO.