Congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair in patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: How early can we repair?

Abstract Background The benefits to early repair ( Methods A retrospective review of infants with CDH placed on ECMO (2004–2017; n = 72) was performed. Data collected on the patients repaired while on ECMO within 72 h of cannulation (n = 33) included pre- and postnatal disease severity stratification variables and postnatal outcomes. Comparison groups were those patients repaired within 24 h of cannulation (n = 14) and those repaired between 24 and 72 h postcannulation (n = 19). Results Patients undergoing “super-early” ( Conclusions Repair of patients with CDH patients on ECMO at less than 24 h postcannulation achieves outcomes that are comparable to those of repair between 24 and 72 h. While the present data suggest that there is not a “too early” time point for CDH repair on ECMO, larger multicenter studies are needed to validate our findings and determine the overall benefits. Type of study Retrospective comparative study. Level of evidence Level III.