Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the treatment of massive pulmonary embolism.

After witnessing the death of a patient following pulmonary embolectomy, John H. Gibbon, Jr, developed the idea of a device for extracorporeal oxygenation and circulation. What followed has led to the present-day method of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as an effective method of cardiorespiratory support. In this case of massive acute pulmonary embolism, its use in a conscious patient completes the circle from the first ideas of Gibbon.