With only ten days of life, a newborn has become the first “hopeful” case of the appropriate ecmo therapy treatment in the Colombian Caribbean. The procedure, which was applied in the postoperative period of a “complex congenital diaphragmatic hernia”, was held at the General Clinic of the North in Barranquilla.
In accordance with Olga Maza, specialist in neonatal intensive care unit, the success of this procedure lies in the fact that it is not commonly performed on newborns, but is used in the recovery of minors who undergo surgery for congenital heart disease.
“After a diaphragmatic hernia repair surgery, the patient evolves torpidly with signs of pulmonary hypertension, which severely affects his respiratory function, that is, one of his lungs did not develop well. With the application of Ecmo therapy, what was done was to let that lung rest so that it might develop better and it was achieved preserve the life of the baby”, said the specialist.
It should be noted that the North General Clinic It is the only entity in the Colombian Caribbean that can attend cases of newborns diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernias.
