In the last few years, progress in engineering has helped to develop minimized systems for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and circulatory support. However, despite progress in engineering, the use of these systems still requires a trained team with special skills to be a beneficial and safe tool in the care of critically ill patients. The described indications and proceedings are based on the daily experience of the Freiburg group using these systems both on site in our own hospital and for transport purposes from primary care hospitals into our center of maximum care. The aim of this review is to share our hands-on experience in urgent/emergent implantations and therefore contribute to the knowledge within the growing community of users in this specialized field of extracorporeal support.
Keywords: Assisted circulation; Cardiogenic shock; ECLS; ECMO; ECPR; VA-ECMO.