Phoenix Man Becomes One Of The First COVID-19 Patients To Be Cured With ECMO Treatment

A Phoenix man has become the first coronavirus patient to be cured of the disease using a special therapy treatment machine.

On Tuesday, ABC15 reported that HonorHealth medical group cured Enes Dedic, 53, using an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (or ECMO) treatment. According to the publication, the ECMO machine removes blood from the body, fills it with oxygen, and then refills the blood back into the body. The treatment releases tension from damaged organs like a patient’s lungs and heart, according to a press release from the medical group.

The facility said the man had “minimal risk factors” of high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. The patient went to the doctor after suffering COVID-19 symptoms, including a fever, chills, body aches, and nausea, for several weeks at home. According to the press release, prior to becoming sick, he had traveled overseas to attend a family member’s funeral in Bosnia.

“March 15, he woke me up and told me he can’t breathe, and I need to take him to the emergency room,” said his wife, Olivera. After his health worsened in the first hospital, the man was transferred to another facility. He was then admitted into HonorHealth, where he was in a medical-induced coma on ECMO for ten days. “On day 11, he woke up, became immediately responsive, and has been FaceTiming with his family while recovering in the ICU,” the press release said.

The patient is now one of the first coronavirus patients in the country and the world to be treated with ECMO and survive. ABC15 reports that the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization only lists ten survivors worldwide. “The survival of our patient required a tremendous team effort including physicians respiratory therapists, nurses and even housekeeping to address unique ways in which to care for, monitor and sanitize our unit for the best possible care,” said Dr. Robert Riley, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at HonorHealth and part of HonorHealth’s Cardiovascular Center of Excellence. “I can’t emphasize enough that this was truly an out-of-the-box approach to care.”