Extracorporeal Life Support During Perioperative Transplantation

Over the past two decades, extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has made progress in evolving from an acute rescue therapy to a semi-elective procedure. The concept of using ECLS devices for bridging to transplantation has opened a whole new field of treatment alternative for patients with advanced stages of organ failure. With the development of new devices and cannulas and improvement of technical skills and management, ECLS may protect the organ from acute deterioration with encouraging outcomes [1]. Now ECLS plays an important role in the perioperative management of transplantation.