Induced airway obstruction under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during treatment of life-threatening massive hemoptysis due to severe blunt chest trauma

Simultaneous improvement in respiratory maintenance and bleeding control increases survival of patients with life-threatening hemoptysis. Endobronchial blockade is an effective method and is preferred for emergency hemostasis. However, when the volume of hemoptysis is high, emergency hemostasis and airway maintenance are impossible due to flooding of blood into the airway. We used extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to overcome these limitations in a patient with massive hemoptysis due to severe blunt trauma and succeeded in saving the life by inducing a near-total airway obstruction.