ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)

VUMC’s ECMO program sees substantial growth

ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is a life-sustaining mechanical system that takes over for the hearts and lungs of critically ill patients, allowing them to rest and recover.

Quick action to treat young dancer’s rare heart condition a testament to what multidisciplinary teams can do

Bystanders assumed the healthy teen — who has danced for nine years, six of those competitively — was overheated or exhausted. Conscious, though unresponsive to questions, Zoe quickly worsened.

Transplant patient’s long journey brings her from the Aloha State to the Volunteer State

She was turned down by multiple transplant centers between Honolulu and Nashville, deemed too sick, before the Vanderbilt Lung Transplant Program accepted her as a patient.

ECMO-equipped Angel 7 crucial for young patient’s long care journey

A seriously ill young patient’s 200-mile journey to receive the care she needed was made possible by Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt’s pediatric transport team and the ECMO-equipped Angel 7 ambulance.

By Jessica Pasley

November 22, 2023

Gracie was with her mom and grandmother on a road trip. A medical emergency brought the Angel 7 ambulance to her rescue.

Angel 7 is the first pediatric transport team in Tennessee to offer extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — ECMO — for its patients. It was the difference in life and death.

By Jessica Pasley

Patient Mathias Uribe with his parents, Mathias Uribe and Catalina Gutierrez, and his younger brother, Nicholas.

November 21, 2023

Young patient’s recovery from infection, multiple amputations, moves to next phase

After 143 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Mathias Uribe was discharged to begin the next phase of his recovery following a lengthy infection that led to a rare sequence of health issues.