[Accidental drowning with extreme hypothermia--rewarming with extracorporeal circulation]

A 3 1/2 year old boy had fallen into a fishpond. After about one hour the boy was brought to our hospital. He was cyanotic and bloated, the rectal temperature was 18.4 degrees C. There was no heart beat, the pupils were wide without reaction to light. Via a sternotomy the heart lung machine was connected and core rewarming was achieved. After 7 days of artificial respiration the boy could be extubated, after 16 days the boy left our hospital without neurological consequences.