Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Apnoeic Oxygenation for Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula Repair in a Previously Pneumonectomised Patient

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for elective thoracic surgical procedures has been infrequently reported in the anaesthetic literature. We report the use of intraoperative veno-venous ECMO support for a patient with a previous left pneumonectomy who required a right-sided thoracotomy for repair of a tracheo-oesophageal fistula. To avoid traumatising or pressurising the fistula, a spontaneous ventilation technique was used...