Reconfiguration from veno-arterial to veno-arterio-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for massive pulmonary embolism

Differential hypoxia may occur after the initiation of femorofemoral veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) if cardiac function improves while severe respiratory failure is still present, one of the most difficult problems encountered during VA ECMO. Reconfiguration to veno-arterio-venous ECMO (V-AV ECMO) is one of several methods of dealing with differential hypoxia. V-AV ECMO requires triple cannulation and careful management of the reinjection flow, but the risk of bleeding is lower than in a surgical procedure, such as central ECMO or a subclavian artery graft. Herein, we reported a patient with a massive pulmonary embolism who received VA ECMO, which was reconfigured to V-AV ECMO 3 days later when differential hypoxia occurred. A drainage cannula was newly inserted via the right internal jugular vein, and an existing drainage cannula was used for reinjection after repositioning it caudally. V-AV ECMO is an effective and feasible treatment for differential hypoxia despite the paucity of the procedure to date.