Bypass vs. Ecmo in Lung Transplantation (BELT)

Randomized Clinical Trial of Intraoperative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Versus Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) in Lung Transplantation

This study seeks to compare outcomes of 2 different methods of cardiopulmonary support during lung transplant surgeries.

This study will compare use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and heart-lung bypass (CPB) during lung transplant procedures and their short and long term outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. The study population will be all patients requiring cardiopulmonary support while undergoing lung transplantation at our institution.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients undergoing concomitant cardiac operations with indication for obligate use of cardiopulmonary bypass
2. Patient with specific anatomy that require full cardiac decompression such as severe pulmonary hypertension or large heart that are shifted severely into the left chest
3. Patients with high likelihood of significant pleural bleeding that will require returning the blood back into the cardiotomy reservoir
4. Patients bridged to transplant with ECMO
5. Cystic fibrosis/bronchiectasis/resistant infection patients where surgeon will need to remove both lungs prior to implantation
6. Patients who the surgeon feels would be better served with CPB rather than ECMO- These patients will be entered into a registry and followed.