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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in a Mouse
Published on: October 24, 2018
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in individuals with thoracic insufficiency
Shelley Hancock1, Curtis Froehlich2, Veronica Armijo-Garcia3
11 Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Blank Children's Hospital, Des Moines, IA, USA.
Introduction:
Respiratory failure is the leading cause of mortality in individuals with congenital spine and rib deformities. We present a case report of a child with Jeune syndrome surviving respiratory failure using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). We also summarize thoracic insufficiency syndrome cases reported in the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry.
Case Report:
A two-year-old male with a chest circumference less than a third percentile for age was admitted with influenza pneumonia developing a peak oxygenation index of 103.5. The child survived to baseline pulmonary function after nine days of venous-arterial ECMO support.
Discussion:
The ELSO registry contained 27 individuals with a surrogate diagnosis of thoracic insufficiency (0.05%). There was no significant difference in survival to discharge for thoracic insufficiency patients (52%) compared to a previously healthy population supported with ECMO.
Conclusion:
ECMO is safe and may be effective in supporting individuals with thoracic insufficiency.
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