To-and-fro veno-venous extracorporeal lung assist for newborns with severe respiratory distress.

A veno-venous to-and-fro bypass method through a single blood access for extracorporeal lung assist with an artificial membrane lung is introduced. A premature newborn with severe respiratory distress was treated with this method. A 12 Fr. single lumen catheter with a spiral-embedded thin-wall, 0.25 mm in wall thickness, was placed in the right internal jugular vein. Venous blood was withdrawn and oxygenated blood returned alternately through the same catheter. Thus both carotid arteries and other large veins were kept intact. During the extracorporeal bypass, the patient was put on intermittent mandatory ventilation of 2 times/min for lung rest providing adequate arterial blood gases, and he survived.