An 11-year-old girl who suffered from life threatening pneumonia progressing to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) becomes the first pediatric patient in South India to have successfully recovered by the use of artificial heart-lung by-pass machine known as ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) at Apollo Childrens Hospital.

The child was transferred to Apollo Childrens Hospital few weeks earlier, due to progressive pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Her condition quickly worsened as there was a rapid loss in the functioning of her lung leading to drastic drop of oxygen levels and her liver showed signs of decreased function. Hence as a final option, the Child was put on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation).

Though ECMO has been used in adult cases in the past, for the first time in South India, the technology has saved a pediatric patient, who was suffering from a life threatening pneumonia to give her a chance to survive and quicker recovery.

According to Dr. Paul Ramesh, Consultant Cardiothoracic surgeon and ECMO coordinator, Apollo Hospitals, As the ventilators were of no support to the child, we had to put her on to the ECMO where her affected lung was put to complete rest and was given time to heal, managing the ECMO was the most challenging task as it has to be monitored 24×7. It required an organized effort of team experts including cardiac surgeons, pulmonologists, anesthetists, critical care specialists, physiotherapists and nursing staff”.

Dr. Indira Jayakumar, Senior Consultant Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Apollo Childrens Hospital said, It is  the Final Frontier, the only option when all conventional therapies  to improve lungs or heart function fail,  but like any other forms of treatment , the key is to initiate it early enough . It can be useful following lung damage by H1N1 infection too.  It is   however pointless in terminal or incurable diseases.

The child was taken off the ECMO machine after 6 days of treatment and was discharged in a fully fit condition few days ago.

Like

Dislike

Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter , Instagram.