Overview
Your physicians may suggest the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation – or ECMO – to support your cardiac or respiratory function if you have an acute injury or illness that is reversible. It will enable your heart or lungs to recover, or extend your life while waiting for a heart or lung transplant. ECMO is not for long-term use.
Our approach
One form of ECMO temporarily takes over the work of the heart and lungs, removing blood from the right side of the heart, passing it through a special membrane to remove carbon dioxide and add oxygen, then returning it to the body on the left side of the heart. A second form of ECMO temporarily takes over the work of only the lungs, removing and returning blood to the right side of the heart.
Specialists at M Health Fairview Heart Care have long been pioneers in the treatment of heart diseases. Our team of intensivists, cardiologists, surgeons, ECMO specialists, nurses, and other medical specialists combine advanced technologies with compassionate care to treat your condition.