30 years of ECMO

On Saturday, July 13, faculty, staff, and honored guests gathered in the Ted Pacha Family Club at Kinnick Stadium to celebrate 30 years of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, at University of Iowa Health Care. This form of life support assists in managing heart and lung functions when a person’s organs can no longer sustain them on their own. Often selected only after all other treatments have been attempted, ECMO can last a few days, or a few weeks or more.

Attendees arrived in style to the setting that Kristina Rudolph, BSN, RN, E-AEC, ECMO program manager, and Paige Graham, MEd, administrative services coordinator, both from UI Health Care’s Heart and Vascular Center, had put together: a bright room surrounded by windows and filled with black and gold balloon and lighted displays, a massive, well-adorned charcuterie board, and tables featuring framed photos of clinicians who work on the ECMO teams in their professional environment.

Three honored guests of the evening were University of Iowa Health Care patients who had received this support, including the first person to receive ECMO at UI Health Care. Also in attendance were the physicians who administered their care; they presented their patients’ cases to the audience of neonatal, pediatric, and adult ECMO clinical teams during the evening’s program.

Honored guest Bailey Johnson, neonatal ECMO patient

Bailey Johnson, right, with her mother

First UI Health Care patient placed on ECMO in 1994 for meconium aspiration.

Recognized by Edward Bell, MD, former director of neonatology (1988-2005) and professor of neonatology, UI Health Care

Honored guest Stella Turnbull, pediatric ECMO patient

Stella was placed on VA ECMO in 2016 for bilateral pulmonary embolisms.

Recognized by Joseph Turek, MD, PHD, MBA, former ECMO medical director, UI Health Care, and current executive co-director, Duke Children’s Pediatric & Congenital Heart Center, Duke University Medical Center

Honored guest Darrin Moore, adult ECMO patient

Darrin was placed on ECMO for cardiogenic shock and new cardiomyopathy of unknown origin. Darrin had an Impella placed and received a heart transplant post-ECMO.

Recognized by Anthony Panos, MD, professor and heart transplant surgical director and mechanical circulatory support surgical director, department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, along with Ernesto Ruiz Duque, MD, interim director of cardiomyopathy for the Heart and Vascular Center, both from UI Health Care

The program, while brief, also included reflection on the advancements in ECMO technology in addition to the remarkable role it played in the lives of the honored guests and those of countless others. William Lynch, MD, UI Health Care’s former ECMO medical director, and current associate director for the adult ECMO program at University of Michigan’s department of surgery, shared his and others’ experiences of some of the first adult ECMO patients supported at Iowa.

To close the evening, Lovkesh Arora, MD, FASA, E-AEC, clinical associate professor of Anesthesia, and ECMO medical director for the Heart and Vascular Center at UI Health Care, gave remarks on the lasting impact collaboration in patient care.

Elizabeth Moore, RN, BSN, MBA, associate director for the Heart and Vascular Center, who emceed the evening, stressed that the evening, “wasn’t just about celebrating 30 years of ECMO; it was about honoring the unwavering dedication, innovation and collaboration that has transformed countless lives. I am immensely proud of the strong community ECMO has built, and the crowded room was a testament to the connections this program has created.”