The use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for massive hemoptysis following a traumatic lung injury: a case report

Background: Published reports regarding the use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) for massive hemoptysis following a thoracic injury are still scarce.

Case presentation: A 34-year-old man developed massive hemoptysis from the right lung after a 2 m fall and being compressed with an iron pipe weighing 500 kg. He was immediately intubated using a double-lumen tube, and one-lung ventilation was started. Endotracheal hemorrhage was controlled by sealing the right lumen. V-V ECMO was initiated to endure the lethal hypoxemia while waiting for the right lung to heal. He came off of V-V ECMO after 17 days and was discharged on foot on day 46.

Conclusion: The strategy of using V-V ECMO in combination with one-lung ventilation is useful and should be strongly considered to save lethal massive hemoptysis cases following traumatic lung injury.