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Echocardiography is a valuable diagnostic and monitoring tool often used before and during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support, but few guidelines are available to help cardiac anesthesiologists who are frequently facilitating ECMO insertion and management. Now, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists has published two consensus statements that include guidance regarding the role of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in performing patient assessments before initiating ECMO, facilitating insertion and final positioning of ECMO cannulae, monitoring and troubleshooting during ECMO support, and managing the weaning process [1,2]...
