Long-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a newborn child after arterial switch operation

A 7-day newborn girl with d-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) and complex coronary anatomy developed global myocardial dysfunction after arterial switch operation despite establishment of an effective coronary circulation. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was used for circulatory support for 163 h after the operation. On day 7 after surgery she was successfully weaned from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and is currently symptom-free 10 months after the operation. This case illustrates the effectiveness of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for circulatory support after the arterial switch operation. In such cases, establishing adequate coronary circulation during surgery mandatory to ensure a successful postoperative myocardial recovery.