Ocular Findings in Infants Treated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator Support
1 From the Departments of Ophthalmology and Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Kresge Eye Institute, and the Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit
Eleven infants treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenator support were examined for ocular complications. Four patients were noted to have retinal and external ocular vascular changes on the left but not on the right. These unilateral findings are believed to be related to right common carotid and internal jugular occlusion. The proposed mechanism involves three factors: cerebral venous congestion, impairment of cerebral and possibly retinal arterial autoregulation, and higher cerebral arterial blood flow on the left compared with the right.
Key Words: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation retina cerebral blood flow
Submitted on October 2, 1987
Accepted on January 15, 1988




