Bhubaneswar: AIIMS Bhubaneswar has successfully rescued the life of a 49-year-old female police officer from Odisha’s Jharsuguda district, after providing veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) support for an extraordinary duration of 36 days.
The officer was suffering from severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) due to pneumonia and has now made a complete recovery, being discharged from the hospital after nearly three months of intensive treatment.
Hospital representatives described this case as one of the longest successful applications of VV-ECMO at the facility, showcasing the institution’s increasing proficiency in advanced life-support techniques.
Initially, the patient was admitted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on April 18 for acute pneumonia. Despite receiving extensive care, including mechanical ventilation in a prone position, her oxygen saturation levels continued to decline, leading to critical respiratory failure.
On May 7, she was transferred to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for more specialized treatment. Upon entering the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) around midnight, medical professionals discovered she was suffering from severe hypoxemia, where conventional ventilation was insufficient to ensure adequate oxygen delivery.
A multidisciplinary team, led by Dr. Srikant Behera, a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and ECMO expert, promptly commenced VV-ECMO, a sophisticated life-support system that temporarily assumes the role of the lungs, allowing them to rest and recover.
She remained on continuous ECMO from May 7 to June 12, receiving comprehensive intensive care, including infection management, nutritional support, physiotherapy, and vigilant monitoring from a dedicated team of specialists.
As her lung function gradually improved, she was successfully weaned off ECMO on June 12. Mechanical ventilation was discontinued on June 27, the tracheostomy tube was removed on June 29, and she was moved from the MICU to the General Medicine ward on July 6. By July 18, she no longer required supplemental oxygen.
After regaining independence in her daily activities, she was discharged from the hospital on July 24.
Dr. Ashutosh Biswas, Executive Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, praised the medical team for their successful handling of this complex case, which highlights the institute’s rapidly evolving expertise in critical care medicine and extracorporeal life support.
“This accomplishment emphasizes AIIMS Bhubaneswar’s dedication to providing world-class, evidence-based critical care and reinforces its reputation as one of eastern India’s premier centers for advanced intensive care and ECMO services,” he stated.
