Thank you so much for this explanation. I was on ECMO in August 2019 while my doctors at Baylor in Dallas were trying to determine the reason for my rapid heart failure. I went from seemingly healthy to heart transplant in about 6 weeks. It turned out that I had Giant Cell Myocarditis, but it was not definitively diagnosed until after my transplant. Because my condition deteriorated so very rapidly, my family and I had no prior knowledge of what the transplant process would involve. Unlike most patients who wait for months or years for a heart, I received a heart offer the day after I was listed. All we now know has been after the fact information. I give all the glory for my recovery and the full life I’m living now to God. Every medical professional who was involved with my pre and post transplant journey, along with those who I’m still associated with and will be for many years to come, were extraordinary people who invested enormous effort and care into bringing me back to my husband, children, and grandchildren. I could never express my gratitude.
From Australia. Had PCP Pneumonia due to a compromised immune system about a month ago. Australia invests a lot in ECMO, and the hospital I was at had a Quantity. My oxygen saturation was down to about %85 whilst receiving oxygen. Doctors informed me that I was going on ECMO. I knew what that meant and became scared, as I knew I had a good chance of not waking up. I was on for a week, and deteriorated, then fought back. Without ECMO this post would not be up.
Man just listening to this only further educates on what my dad went through last year when he caught the virus which eventually took his life. Almost word for word @ 2:36 Course his age and current health did him no favors either.
Excellent content, no doubt about that. I love it! But please, on the next time, speak a little bit louder and a in a little more articulated way. I could barely understand some of your words. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the feedback! I just got an external microphone over the weekend for this reason. Hopefully you’ll notice an improvement in my upcoming videos. Thank you for watching!
Great question. The ventilator and ECMO are both types of life support. They support the body while it tries to heal. Unfortunately, they don’t make the lungs better. It’s hard to say if one is better than the other because there is a time and place for each of them. ECMO has much stricter criteria to place a patient on it. We view it as a bridge - either to recovery or transplant. Many times (but not always) if the patient is not a transplant candidate, then they are not considered for ECMO. I hope this was helpful. Thank you for watching the video.
I am sorry for your loss. As a respiratory therapy student, vents are used to deliver either a set volume or pressure to the lungs. There are many different medical/respiratory reasons why a person may need a vent. The number one reason is because the patient cannot protect their airway. Unlike ECMO, the patient's lungs do all of the work , filtering, oxygenating....etc. The vent handles the respiratory load of work. I hope this helps.
