CONTACT US:

Program Director
Steven Conrad,
MD, PhD
(318) 626-1308
(877) 772-8543

Associate Program Director
Jonathan Eaton, MD
(318) 675-5920

Program Coordinator
Heather Kline
(318) 626-1308

 

Extracorporeal Life Support

EXTRACORPOREAL LIFE SUPPORT

The Extracorporeal Life Support Program at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport provides advanced life support techniques including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT) and plasma exchange (PEX). The only program of its type in the region, it has provided life-saving support for adults, children and neonates for over 20 years.

Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) denotes a family of therapies for advanced organ failure that includes extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and related support therapies. The ECLS program at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport covers all extracorporeal therapies provided in the ICU, including:

  • ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)
  • CRRT (continuous renal replacement therapies)
  • TPE (therapeutic plasma exchange)
  • Liver support for acute hepatic failure

The ECLS Program at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport has been providing ECMO since 1993, first in adults and subsequently in children and neonates, and is internationally recognized. The ECMO team now consists of five ECMO physicians and a bedside team of nurses and respiratory therapists. The team has been involved in researching new support modalities, such as intravascular oxygenation and pumpless arteriovenous CO2 removal at both the pre-clinical and clinical stages for over 20 years.

Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport has been recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), a unique international organization devoted to the application and advancement of prolonged bedside extracorporeal techniques worldwide. This association keeps Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport at the forefront of this complex technology.

REFERRING PATIENTS FOR ECMO

ExtraCorporeal Life Support