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Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

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Contemporary Heart Transplantation

Part of the book series: Organ and Tissue Transplantation ((OTT))

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Abstract

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a mode of mechanical cardiopulmonary support that is a direct extension of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and provides temporary support for patients with cardiac and pulmonary failure. Because of the ease of institution, ECMO can be started emergently and can provide almost immediate cardiopulmonary support for patients in hemodynamically unstable clinical conditions. Though ECMO and extracorporeal life support (ECLS) circuits are simple in principle, ECMO circuitry has seen tremendous innovation in the past few decades. ECMO can be modulated in multiple configurations to provide cardiac and pulmonary support and to suit the specific needs of patients in many clinical conditions. This chapter included discussion on the historical inception of ECMO, expansion in scope, the indications, and clinical conditions it is used for and its role as a bridge to heart and lung transplantation in selected patients.

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Pocock, E.S., Najam, F., Panjrath, G. (2020). Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. In: Bogar, L., Stempien-Otero, A. (eds) Contemporary Heart Transplantation. Organ and Tissue Transplantation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58054-8_26

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