Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is an effective method for bridging patients to recovery in cases of respiratory and/or cardiac failure that are potentially reversible and unresponsive to conventional management. Nevertheless, there have been only few reports about the use of ECLS in oncological patients with complications due to their neoplasm or its treatment. We report the use of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in three cases of severe perioperative complications following surgery for mesothelioma after induction chemotherapy at our Institution.
Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a rescue therapy that supports gas exchange and hemodynamic parameters in patients with severe respiratory or cardiac failure. In the last ten years, a significant increment in the use of ECMO has been occurred in thoracic surgery for lung transplant, but little is known about the role of ECMO to face severe complications after general thoracic surgery. This study aims: (I) to investigate the incidence of postoperative adverse events, requiring ECMO support, after general thoracic surgery, and (II) to evaluate the intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital survival in patients who received ECMO after general thoracic surgery.
Methods:We retrospectively reviewed the ECMO registry data on patients who received ECMO after general thoracic surgery at
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