Judy Hamilton
21st July 2006, 01:51 PM (13:51)
baby Steward is still in the battle for his life. As i type this, a team of expert trained medical doctors and nurses have flown into Puerto Rico and the baby is right now in surgery to allow placement on a special machine. the article below explains better than i can at this point. I thank God for a country that will provide the expertise for this pricey machine, procedure and air lift transport for those our own.
Please continue to pray for this baby...if you will. Steward will be transported at 6:00pm EST via a USAF C 17 Globemaster to San Antonio
Many hospitals worldwide now have ECMO, but no other hospital has the long-distance air transportable capability, which the Air Force has that is necessary to help save infants and children of military families who may be stationed in remote areas or locations without access to the equipment. At Lackland AFB San Antonio, Wilford Hall medical teams place six to 12 patients on ECMO each year, and two to four require long-distance transport, often from locations such as Alaska and Hawaii.
The head neonatologist at Wilford Hall is supervising Steward’s care aboard the USAF Globemaster III and on ambulances. The baby will be on a portable ECMO machines the entire time until put on a larger machine at the San Antonio children’s hospital.
What is ECMO?
ECMO stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. ECMO is a special procedure that allows sick or injured lungs the opportunity to rest and get better.
When lungs are sick or injured they are unable to provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) as they normally would. ECMO is similar to the heart-lung bypass used in the operating room but is used for longer periods of time.
Once your baby is placed on ECMO, the circuit will take over the work of your baby's lungs. Oxygenation and ventilation (removal of carbon dioxide) will be done for your baby so the lungs can rest.
What is the goal of ECMO?
By taking over the work of the lungs, ECMO allows the lungs to rest. ECMO does not heal the lungs but gives them time to rest and recover. ECMO will be used only when other methods of support have been tried and your baby has not improved. Once on ECMO theventilator (breathing macnine) settings will be decreased to levels that will not damage the lungs. When the lungs have healed and can work on their own, ECMO will be stopped. This process usually takes 3-7 days.
How does ECMO work?
Plastic tubes (cannulae or catheters) are surgically placed in your baby's neck. These tubes allow blood to be taken from your baby and passed through an artificial "lung" where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide removed. The blood is then warmed and returned to your baby through the plastic tube
Please continue to pray for this baby...if you will. Steward will be transported at 6:00pm EST via a USAF C 17 Globemaster to San Antonio
Many hospitals worldwide now have ECMO, but no other hospital has the long-distance air transportable capability, which the Air Force has that is necessary to help save infants and children of military families who may be stationed in remote areas or locations without access to the equipment. At Lackland AFB San Antonio, Wilford Hall medical teams place six to 12 patients on ECMO each year, and two to four require long-distance transport, often from locations such as Alaska and Hawaii.
The head neonatologist at Wilford Hall is supervising Steward’s care aboard the USAF Globemaster III and on ambulances. The baby will be on a portable ECMO machines the entire time until put on a larger machine at the San Antonio children’s hospital.
What is ECMO?
ECMO stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. ECMO is a special procedure that allows sick or injured lungs the opportunity to rest and get better.
When lungs are sick or injured they are unable to provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) as they normally would. ECMO is similar to the heart-lung bypass used in the operating room but is used for longer periods of time.
Once your baby is placed on ECMO, the circuit will take over the work of your baby's lungs. Oxygenation and ventilation (removal of carbon dioxide) will be done for your baby so the lungs can rest.
What is the goal of ECMO?
By taking over the work of the lungs, ECMO allows the lungs to rest. ECMO does not heal the lungs but gives them time to rest and recover. ECMO will be used only when other methods of support have been tried and your baby has not improved. Once on ECMO theventilator (breathing macnine) settings will be decreased to levels that will not damage the lungs. When the lungs have healed and can work on their own, ECMO will be stopped. This process usually takes 3-7 days.
How does ECMO work?
Plastic tubes (cannulae or catheters) are surgically placed in your baby's neck. These tubes allow blood to be taken from your baby and passed through an artificial "lung" where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide removed. The blood is then warmed and returned to your baby through the plastic tube