This case involves a juvenile female patient in Idaho who underwent a number of surgeries to repair a congenital heart defect that was diagnosed shortly after birth. After the child was born, she underwent a number of surgeries to repair the defect. During one of these surgeries, the ECMO machine that was being used to oxygenate the patient’s blood malfunctioned, causing the perfusionist to manually crank the machine to re-initiate the flow of blood. As this occurred the machine allowed air into the system that subsequently enter the patient. As a result, the child suffered an air embolism and died shortly after the surgery was completed.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Do you have experience in using the ECMO machine? If so, how often do you use it?
2. What are the common complications that can arise from using this machine?
3. How does one mitigate the risk of air embolism?
About the author
Joseph O'Neill
Joe has extensive experience in online journalism and technical writing across a range of legal topics, including personal injury, meidcal malpractice, mass torts, consumer litigation, commercial litigation, and more. Joe spent close to six years working at Expert Institute, finishing up his role here as Director of Marketing. He has considerable knowledge across an array of legal topics pertaining to expert witnesses. Currently, Joe servces as Owner and Demand Generation Consultant at LightSail Consulting.