Advances in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the Setting of Lung Transplantation

Lung transplantation has become an increasingly important modality for the treatment of severe lung disease. From its inception, the procedure has been refined so that it now represents the standard of care for end stage respiratory failure. The widespread adoption of this treatment option, however, has brought into sharp relief the current organ donor shortage. In tandem with the explosion in lung transplant procedures, a number of support modalities have seen an expanded role. Perhaps one of the most versatile tools in the armamentarium of the pulmonary transplant surgeon is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This powerful tool is being increasingly implemented in all stages of lung transplantation— from supporting the failing native organ as a bridging tool to transplantation, to stabilizing the patient intra-operatively during the transplant procedure, to rescuing the patient with severe primary graft dysfunction immediately post-transplant. A number of advanced techniques for the application of ECMO in order to optimize the pulmonary transplant procedure are gaining traction—and with ECMO’s expanded role in lung transplantation, so also has come a new set of technical and ethical challenges that must also be overcome.