MYOCARDIAL RECOVERY THROUGH ECMO AFTER REPAIR OF TOTAL ANOMALOUS PULMONARY VENOUS CONNECTION - THE IMPORTANCE OF LEFT-HEART UNLOADING

A 7-day-old boy who had been placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygena tion on his second day of life developed biventricular failure after u ndergoing surgical repair of a supracardiac variant of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was again necessary for postoperative cardiopulmonary support. However, se vere left ventricular failure made it imperative to leave the vertical vein open during support in order to decrease pressure on the left ve ntricle. The patient was successfully weaned from extracorporeal membr ane oxygenation on day 8 after surgery and discharged from the hospita l on day 23. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.