KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — University of Tennessee Medical Center is becoming the first hospital in the region to offer a potentially life-saving therapy for seriously ill patients with lung and heart conditions.
The treatment is called ECMO, or extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation.
The new machine essentially does the work for the patient’s heart and lungs; allowing the patient time to heal.
“This is a support device. It allows us to support the patient, while either the body heals or we can get them to a destination therapy. Such as an advanced cardiac support as a ventricular cyst device or even transplant.”
Dr. Ben Bevill – Medical Director of UT Medical Center’s ECMO Program
Before this, patients requiring ECMO therapy had to be transferred to Nashville, Lexington or Atlanta for the demanded treatment.