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But how many ECMO cases are there really? Not that many. Certainly not enough to support a large workforce of surgeons in the future
Also one of my nurses just took a rep job for some endovascular placed VAD the cardiologists are doing (which blows my mind), so even that isn't a safe harbor for CTVS apparently
Depends on how ECMO is utilized. There are people who do all lung transplants on ECMO, so that beefs the numbers up a bit.
Would be curious which device. As below, it sounds like an Impella. A lot of issues with hemolysis and device malposition.
I think the important thing to note is not so much that surgeons are needed for the bigger devices but that Impella devices are only approved for short term support and for LV decompression in patients on ECMO. Its not like you can get an impella and walk home to go about your business. You're stuck to a device that sits at the bedside.Big centers can have well over 100 ECMO runs per year. As far as the endovascular VAD you’re referring to, it’s probably an Impella CP, which cards can place in the cath lab, but doesn’t provide the same degree of support as the surgically implanted Impella 5.5 or ECMO. They all operate along a spectrum of support provided, one doesn’t necessarily replace the other.