The cardiopulmonary bypass, or heart-lung machine is one of the biggest medical inventions in the mid -20th century and the advances in cardiac surgery would not have been possible without this contrivance. Nevertheless it is not without its share of side-effects, with post-perfusion acute lung injury being among one of the most severe and life-threatening complications. We report a case of 65-year-old female patient diagnosed with left main and three-vessel coronary artery disease and admitted

more »

... for an elective coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG). Triple bypass grafting procedure was performed. After weaning from bypass, the patient developed severe pulmonary edema with calculated Murray score of 4 points suggesting ECMO(extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) as the only salvage procedure. Peripheral venoarterial ECMO was implanted. After 5 days the mechanical support was withdrawn with full pulmonary recovery. Innovative cardiopulmonary bypass circuit and techniques, lung-protective mechanical ventilation strategies, ECMO etc. are amid possibilities to avoid this potentially lethal complication.