Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the treatment of acute respiratory failure due to respiratory syncytial virus after congenital heart surgery.

Mechanical circulatory support using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a therapeutic option for intractable cardiac or respiratory failure. It has widely been used for adult and pediatric patient population with considerable success in cases with otherwise dismal prognosis. We describe the successful use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a 9-month-old patient suffering from a virus-related respiratory failure after congenital cardiac surgery.