The Hyderabad-based Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) has successfully demonstrated the latest extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology to help save lives of heart and lung patients during emergencies.

This latest and most advanced ECMO technology installed at KIMS is an apt platform to treat patients suffering from acute heart and lung disease. Demonstrating the new technology, Dr K Chandrasekhar, paediatric intensivist at KIMS said, “ECMO is the latest medical technology that is exclusively used for patients suffering from complete failure of heart and lungs. This equipment helps to buy time for the patient and save life before we embark on the actual surgery. So far we have successfully treated 12 patients suffering from severe heart and lung ailments.”

The ECMO technology is particularly designed to be used for patients with severe cardiac or respiratory failure. In patients with very severe lung disease or poor cardiac function which is not responding to the usual treatment of mechanical ventilation (breathing machine), medicines and extra oxygen, ECMO can take over the function of the patient’s lungs and heart respectively, allowing them time to rest and heal, informed the doctor.

If lung and or heart are severely affected, the available conventional treatment will not help the patient. Only way to keep them alive is to provide artificial heart and lung support till they improve. By putting them on ECMO, it buys time for medicines to work and lungs to improve.

The ECMO machine pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest. When the patient is connected to an ECMO, blood flows through tubing to an artificial lung in the machine that adds oxygen and takes out carbon dioxide; then the blood is warmed to body temperature and pumped back into to the patient’s body. “Extra corporeal means outside the body.  ECMO performs as an artificial lung located outside the body that puts oxygen into the blood (oxygenation) and continuously pumps this blood into and around the body,” elaborating further the doctor.

KIMS, the super speciality hospital in Hyderabad is amongst only few hospitals in Hyderabad having this technology with fully trained doctors and support team. It is the only hospital in India with dedicated ECMO team and ECMO unit. It is one of the few centres in country which can perform ECMO for children with lung infections.