ECMO Machine

[MathsFanatic]

Hi, does anyone have any experiences of the ECMO machine. What is the process of someone being on the machine and how does the patient cope with this?

[Sepsur]

I know @Copse77 has much more understanding of ECMO - so hopefully they will pick up this tag.

Whether you get any joy or not - I’m sure you will find some great info here : ecmofamilysupport.com/

[MathsFanatic in reply to Sepsur]

Thank you very much!!

[Rosie_cheeks]

Hi, my dad was on ecmo 3 years ago (then 72). He had double pneumonia/Ards. As I understood, the machine takes blood from the body, oxygenated it and puts it back. It gives the lungs a chance to rest and hopefully heal. I think all in all my dad was on ecmo for about 3 weeks but remained in icu for a further 3 weeks and then hospital/rehab for another 7 weeks approx. ECMO doesn't come without risks, I think it's hard work for the body. We were told they would try with dad as he had otherwise been fit and healthy (and a non smoker). But, without it, I doubt my dad would have survived. He's doing well since and leading a very similar life to the one pre hospital.

Hope this helps.

[MathsFanatic in reply to Rosie_cheeks]

Thank you for the information! My uncle is on the ECMO being treated for COVID so I wanted to understand it a bit more. It seems like a longer process than being on a typical ventilator and there is a lot more to it in terms of weaning off and the different complications and risks. Very difficult to take it all in and especially when it takes a while to see results.

[Copse77 in reply to MathsFanatic]

The ECMO family support website that Sepsur included a link to has helpful information. I sent you a private message with more information.

[Copse77]

Hello ECMO provides life saving support to allow organs to rest and the patient is placed in an induced coma.

Our family had a positive outcome . If you have any particular questions I am happy to try to answer them.

Best wishes for your family members recovery

[judyeli21 in reply to Copse77]

Hi my brother is fighting COVID and was put ECMO we are at day 16 with ECMO. Would you be able to share some of your experience. How many days they were on ECMO ? And what the setting were while on ECMO? Thank you so much

[Sepsur in reply to judyeli21]

A typical ECMO journey

youtu.be/ShLVlAiBGKI(Not working as expected?)

[Copse77 in reply to judyeli21]

Dear Judy it was my brother on ECMO. He was on ECMO for 4 days. That may seem like a short time but his battle continued for months beyond that. ECMO truly was a lifesaver for my brother. Without it he would not be here. Below is a link to ECMO family support at Wythenshawe Hospital. There are stories on here from patients and their families from ECMO.

[Copse77 in reply to Copse77]

ecmofamilysupport.com

[judyeli21 in reply to Copse77]

Thank you so much for sharing.

[Grant_za]

ECMO, unlike a ventilator, or heart bypass pump which are stand-alone machines, is a combination of many different pieces of equipment which work in harmony to provide external life support. Although no longer in clinical practice, I'm a cardiac perfusionist (we are the people who manage the "heart / lung machine" during invasive cardiac procedures where a patient has to go on bypass. We form part of the team for every patient on ECMO. Team required for every patient on ECMO would generally include a cardiologist, critical care physician and critical care nurse, all attending on a 24hr basis to the patient. To be placed on ECMO the patient would be in a critical condition, however, patients who go on ECMO have generally gone through assessment whereby there is a fairly good outcome prognosis. Unlike being on bypass with a heart / lung machine where the safe period is around 45 minutes, a patient can be on ECMO for up to 2 months. ECMO is exceedingly expensive and still fairly rare in that about 1 hospital in 5,in major cities only have an ECMO facility. It can be a daunting sight to see a loved on ECMO due to all the machines and tubes, but remember everything you see is working in harmony with a fully fledged medical team constantly available to the patient. In my experience, positive outcomes vastly overweight negative. Although the concept may be difficult to understand, a patient who went on ECMO would have had near zero prospect of survival of a few days were they not placed on ECMO, however, going back to my original point, were the prognosis of positive outcome not been possible, a patient during assessment would fail to be a suitable ECMO candidate. In these trying times many decisions are outcome and resource management based. Unfortunately the info I can provide is limited to a clinical / technical basis, not from a patient perspective, but there are sure to be others here who can provide a patient perspective. But know this, your loved one is receiving the very pinnacle of life support available to medicine at the moment.

[Grant_za in reply to Grant_za]

Apologies for grammar and typo errors above - sent from phone which is less than ideal.

[MathsFanatic in reply to Grant_za]

Thank you very much. Your insight is very helpful! It is difficult to see loved ones like this and even more hard that we are unable to physically be there with them but I trust that they are in the best care and the nurses have been so supportive and have always kept us informed when we call.

[Grant_za in reply to MathsFanatic]

something to watch - a very typical patient story:

youtube.com/watch?v=ShLVlAi...(Not working as expected?)

[MathsFanatic in reply to Grant_za]

This is a really beautiful and touching story. Thank you for sharing. I pray that my uncle has a outcome similar to this x

[Sepsur in reply to Grant_za]

😀 my issue all the time - especially when it autocorrects really inappropriately

[VickyC1982]

I wasn’t on ECMO but have been the radiographer present when they have cannulated the patient to start ECMO? The machine takes over the function of lungs and/or heart in order for the lungs to recover enough to start working again. The patient is then gradually weaned off the ECMO machine as their organs start to recover. It’s a treatment that carries many of of its own risks and is only suitable for patients are able to recover in the long term and just need a temporary solution xx

[MathsFanatic in reply to VickyC1982]

Hi Vicky, from your experience is there an average time Someone stays on ECMO for lung failures? Is there a sort of cap on how long someone must stay on the machine?

[VickyC1982 in reply to MathsFanatic]

They like to quote about 7-10 but as with everything, there’s people that have been on it longer and have gone to recover. I was in ICU in a coma on a ventilator at Christmas for respiratory failure. I actually dreamt that I was on ECMO but luckily it didn’t come to that! X

[VickyC1982 in reply to MathsFanatic]

7–10 days! Sorry x

[MathsFanatic in reply to VickyC1982]

Thank you for the info Vicky! My uncle is currently on the machine but the doctors are trying to wean him off it as soon as possible so that recovery time is faster. Fingers crossed all will be ok, it’s a slow process but we are all praying and keeping him in our thoughts. Take care x

[PneumoniaSurvivor13]

I was on ECMO for 6 days this past February due to bacterial pneumonia. I don’t remember being put on ECMO as I was on a ventilator first, but it wasn’t enough for my lungs. I strongly believe ECMO saved my life as it allowed my body to rest while the machines and medicine did the work. Now, ECMO doesn’t cure anything but it helps the body rest so you can have a fighting chance. When I woke up finally after I was off ECMO and the ventilator, my husband had to explain to me several times what exactly happened. When you’re in the hospital for that long and on a life support machine, you lose a lot of muscle mass and I had a tough time with swallowing due to the intubation. So I did my PT and OT therapies with a feeding tube, it wasn’t terrible. But finally after a few months I few completely back to normal (I’m 30) which is amazing!

[MathsFanatic in reply to PneumoniaSurvivor13]

Hi! That’s amazing!! It’s so good to hear from someone who has been on the machine and has gone through the same steps my uncle is currently try going through. He is currently on the ECMO fighting Covid. How long were you on ventilation and ECMO in total for? Do you remember anything from when you were on the ventilator or on ECMO eg. Hearing people’s voices. It’s lovely to hear from someone who has had a positive outcome from the treatment. Take care x

[PneumoniaSurvivor13 in reply to MathsFanatic]

For me it was 7 days total on the machines. I was in such bad condition that the night I was put on ECMO was the same day I was put on the ventilator. I don’t remember anyone taking to me, but my husband, family and friends all came to see me to sit there and talk to me (pre-COVID), the medical staff says it helps. I do remember hallucinations, due to pain killers I’m sure, but nothing scary! I spent the next 8 days in the ICU then transferred to inpatient rehab. Everyone’s situation is different and I hope your uncle has success with ECMO and life after!