The Role of Interventional Radiologists in the Use of Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation in the Catheter-Directed Treatment of Pulmonary Embolism

Patients with pulmonary embolism who are in hemodynamically unstable condition present a special challenge to the interventionalist. When treating such patients, extracorporeal membranous oxygenation (ECMO) can help to stabilize these patients' condition; however, specific criteria for its use do not exist. Two patients are presented here to familiarize the reader with the use of ECMO and to demonstrate its utility for the interventional radiologist.