Photo By Elaine Sanchez | Brianna Sackreiter is now seven months old and recovering in Seattle, Wash.... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO -- After a long and distinguished history of saving the lives of infants and children at what was formerly Wilford Hall Medical Center, the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine is still a vital part of lifesaving procedures after its integration into the San Antonio Military Medical Center.
The ECMO device is commonly used for high-risk newborns and children suffering from respiratory and/or cardiac failure as a result of birth defects, trauma or severe infection.
Similar to a heart-lung bypass machine used for an open-heart surgery, it mimics the natural function of the heart and lungs, allowing an infant or child to survive while natural healing of the affected organ takes place.
Since 1985, the former WHMC had treated 191 ECMO patients with 79 transports from all over the world, with the support of 59th Medical Wing personnel.
In December 2011, the ECMO program transferred to SAMMC as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations. The program continues today, as Army and Air Force medical personnel work together to provide the high-quality health care.
SAMMC is the only facility in the Department of Defense that provides this type of medical procedure for infants, with the 59th MDW providing world-wide air support for transporting patients to and from the medical centers.
“The ECMO transport function still remains with the 59th Medical Wing, while the inpatient ECMO care is at SAMMC,” said Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Michael Shoemaker, SAMMC neonatologist and ECMO director.
So far, one patient has been treated at SAMMC and another patient was transported from the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan, to the Stanford University Medical Center in California.
“No question about it, she would have died without ECMO,” Shoemaker said. “Brianna was born on Jan. 13 in a Honduras hospital. Her mother is Honduran and her father is active duty stationed in Fort Lewis, Wash."
“She was born with undiagnosed ruptured omphalocele and gastroschisis [an abdominal wall defect where abdominal contents are outside of the body],” he continued.
“She had some surgical repairs in Honduras but remained very ill and had developed a bloodstream infection,” Shoemaker said.
“She was scheduled to be transferred from Honduras to Seattle Children's Hospital, however en route to Seattle, she developed a pneumothorax [collapsed lung] and hemothorax [collection of blood between the chest wall and the lungs], which caused the flight to divert to SAMMC Feb. 8,” he said.
Brianna had no chance of survival without the use of the ECMO machine.
“Due to the bloodstream infection and her acute respiratory distress syndrome, along with her illness worsening, it was determined that she would surely die without ECMO,” Shoemaker said. “On Feb. 11, she was placed on ECMO and was taken off the machine on Feb. 18.”
On March 21, Brianna’s health improved and she was transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
“She had a very rocky post-ECMO course, but did manage to improve enough to be transported to Madigan in March,” he concluded. “Since then, she has had surgery on her bowel and is doing very well.”
Cheryl Collicott, the senior ECMO coordinator since 1985, said she finds the job rewarding.
“I love what I do. It’s the feeling you get when you know you made a difference in someone’s lives,” Collicott said.
“The thanks and the hugs you receive from the families you helped in saving their baby’s life is what keep us going.”
The ECMO program is a multi-disciplinary team of cardiac intensive care unit physicians, nurses, specially trained respiratory therapists and medical technicians who provide customized ECMO care for each child they treat. The program also supports the Graduate Medical Education in surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics and neonatology.
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2012 13:42 |
| Story ID: | 93123 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 441 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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