AIIMS Bhubaneswar Saves Police Officer After 36 Days On ECMO, Marks Major Critical Care Milestone

Bhubaneswar: In a remarkable feat of advanced critical care, AIIMS Bhubaneswar has successfully saved the life of a 49-year-old woman police officer from Odisha's Jharsuguda district after keeping her on veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) support for an extraordinary 36 days.

The patient, who was battling severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) caused by pneumonia, has made a full recovery and was discharged from the institute after spending nearly three months under intensive medical care.

Hospital officials described the case as one of the longest successful VV-ECMO support interventions undertaken at the institute, highlighting AIIMS Bhubaneswar's growing expertise in advanced life-support therapies.

The woman was first admitted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar on April 18 after developing severe pneumonia. Despite receiving intensive care, including mechanical ventilation in the prone position, her oxygen levels continued to fall, leaving her in critical respiratory failure.

She was referred to AIIMS Bhubaneswar on May 7 for advanced treatment. Upon her arrival at the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) around midnight, doctors found her suffering from profound hypoxemia, with conventional ventilation no longer able to maintain adequate oxygenation.

A multidisciplinary critical care team led by Dr Srikant Behera, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and ECMO specialist, immediately initiated VV-ECMO, an advanced life-support system that temporarily takes over the function of the lungs, allowing them to rest and heal.

The patient remained on continuous ECMO support from May 7 to June 12—a total of 36 days—while receiving round-the-clock intensive care, infection management, nutritional support, physiotherapy and close monitoring by a multidisciplinary team.

As her lungs gradually recovered, doctors successfully weaned her off ECMO on June 12. She was taken off mechanical ventilation on June 27, her tracheostomy tube was removed on June 29, and she was shifted from the MICU to the General Medicine ward on July 6. By July 18, she no longer required supplemental oxygen.

Having regained independence in her daily activities, she was discharged on July 24.

Congratulating the treating team, AIIMS Bhubaneswar Executive Director Dr Ashutosh Biswas said the successful management of such a complex case reflects the institute's rapidly expanding capabilities in critical care medicine and extracorporeal life support.

“This achievement underscores AIIMS Bhubaneswar's commitment to delivering world-class, evidence-based critical care and strengthens its position as one of eastern India's leading centres for advanced intensive care and ECMO services,” he said.