Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (SARF)
Royal Brompton Hospital is one of the seven centrally-funded ECMO centres for adult SARF in England.
ECMO oxygenates the blood drained from the patient, which is then returned to the patient when their lungs are unable to do so. An ECMO machine is similar to equipment used during a heart-lung bypass operation.
Royal Brompton Hospital provides SARF and ECMO support to referring hospitals in the following areas/critical care networks:
- London north central
- London north west
- South west peninsula
- Avon and Gloucester
- Thames Valley area of south central.
We also take patients requiring ECMO from any of the UK networks, as well as Wales should it be required.
Our service
We provide a 24/7 consultant-delivered retrieval service that can provide comprehensive advice on SARF management and mobile ECMO when necessary.
The service offers:
- clinical input
- imaging reviews
- thoracic surgical input
- advance mechanical ventilation
- extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R)
- ECMO
Typical patients suitable for ECMO include those with reversible disease associated with severe hypoxaemia (eg PaO2/FiO2 < 13.3kPa) or severe hypercapnic acidosis (eg pH < 7.20) despite conventional support.
But we welcome discussions about any patient with potentially reversible severe acute respiratory failure, particularly those in whom adequate arterial blood gases cannot be achieved using lung protective tidal volumes and pressures.
We encourage early referral and provide tailored solutions according to the requirements of the patient and referring centre.
The potential benefits of ECMO as a lung protective strategy diminish after about one week of conventional ventilation at high pressure and high-inspired oxygen.
AICU and ECMO consultants
- Dr Brij Patel - Director of AICU, SARF/ECMO lead
- Dr Joana Alçada
- Dr Alex Rosenberg
- Dr Benjamin Garfield
- Dr Caroline Bullen
- Dr Chris Langrish
- Dr Clara Hernandez Caballero
- Dr James Doyle
- Dr Julian Dalton
- Dr Katrina Bramley
- Dr Maurizio Passariello
- Dr Michael Berry
- Dr Shabana Anwar
- Professor Suveer Singh
Our consultants work closely with:
- ECMO nurses (George Georgovasilis - Lead nurse for ECMO)
- Perfusion department (Tim Jackson - Chief Perfusionist)
- Respiratory and ILD consultants
- Cardiothoracic surgeons
- Radiology department (Professor Sujal Desai - Consultant Radiologist)
Contact details
If you need urgent advice, or would like an update on the patient you have referred, the ECMO team will accept telephone calls at any time.
ECMO nurse mobile: 07815 494 175
Switchboard: 020 7351 8121