Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children's Medical Center of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.
We report the cases of two children presenting with severe airway compromise secondary to a mediastinal malignancy managed with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation without intubation. Results are presented on the use of ECMO as a primary means of stabilizing a pediatric patient with a critical mediastinal mass, thus providing another management strategy for this difficult situation. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.