Mid-term results of bilateral lung transplant with postoperatively extended intraoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for severe pulmonary hypertension

The authors report on 38 patients who underwent bilateral lung transplantation for severe pulmonary hypertension with routine application of prophylactic postoperative veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). These patients’ survival up to 5 years was not different from patients who received lung transplants for other causes, and cardiac parameters were improved 12 months after transplantation. In consequence, the authors recommend regular postoperative use of ECMO in this patient population.