How an Australian hospital is bringing clinically dead people back to life

The Week ^ | May 14, 2013 | Lauren Hansen

[neverdem]

Resurrection may no longer be the stuff of myth

Doctors at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne have a knack for resurrection. Thanks to a combination of two resuscitation techniques, the Australian team has successfully revived three patients who were officially dead for between 40 and 60 minutes.

One of those patients was 39-year-old Colin Fielder, who suffered a heart attack last year. While being whisked away in the ambulance, he was asked which of the two nearby hospitals he preferred. "For some reason, I said The Alfred, which is pretty lucky because they are the only one that has it," Fielder said.

"It" is the AutoPulse, a portable CPR machine that performs constant chest compressions that essentially keep the heart beating. What makes the AutoPulse unique is that instead of pistons pressing and lifting only one part of the sternum, the AutoPulse uses a band that wraps around and squeezes the entire chest. (See a video of the machine in action below.) As a result, "victims receive more consistent, high-quality compressions… which means improved blood flow," according to the manufacturer's website.

In addition to the AutoPulse, The Alfred doctors also used a technique on Fielder called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) — it's essentially an artificial lung outside the body that keeps oxygen and blood flowing to the patient's brain and vital organs. ECMOs have been used in the past for lung transplant recipients as well as extremely ill newborns. But it is this combination of ECMOs and the AutoPulse, currently in clinical trials at The Alfred, that has proved successful in reviving the dead.

The combination of the ECMO and AutoPulse help to keep the body "living" while also giving doctors time to diagnose the heart attack source and treat it. More time and care means an increased chance of...

[stuartcr]

What about miracles?

[Sergio]

bkmk

[Pontiac]

Now before you up and move to Australia, similar techniques have been used in the U.S in equally limited trials. Dr. Sam Parnia, head of intensive care at Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, has dedicated his career to bringing ill people back from the dead. His research has taught him that successful resuscitation comes by way of mechanical CPR combined with ECMO treatment. Parnia says these methods are not only straightforward and relatively cheap, but also could save up to an estimated 40,000 American lives per year.

Now under Obama Care I imagine that there would be considerably few than 40,000 Americans saved by this technique.

Under Obama Care when they wheel you in to the Emergency Room at the hospital the first thing that will happen is that your SS number will be entered in to the AHCA computer data base which will use an algorithm that take in to account your age, healthcare use to date and your current productivity to determine your over all worth to society and from that worth determine your available course of treatment.

Now if you are an 87 year old retired janitor with diabetes and high blood pressure I am afraid that you are SOL. They are going to slap a DNR tag on your chest and call your next of kin to claim your corpse.

[RoosterRedux]

Under Obama Care when they wheel you in to the Emergency Room at the hospital the first thing that will happen is that your SS number will be entered in to the AHCA computer data base which will use an algorithm that take in to account your age, healthcare use to date and your current productivity to determine your over all worth to society and from that worth determine your available course of treatment.

Actually, the first thing they will do is determine if you are one of them (Liberal) or one of us (conservative, Christian, Jewish, Patriot).

If you are one of us, you are SOL at any age.

[neverdem]

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[Wonder Warthog]

"Who plays God? "

The Government, of course. After all, they're "here to help you".

[DigitalVideoDude]

They’re not dead. They’re not dead. They’re not. They’re getting better. They don’t want to go on the cart. They feel fine. They think they’ll go for a walk. They feel happy. They feel happy.

[1010RD]

Excellent.

[1010RD]

The pseudononymous irony of it all. Well done, Mr. Lucky.

[1010RD]

Dr. Parnia is the one I’ve heard of. His method is good for more than 60 minutes, IIRC.

[King Moonracer]

The soul leaves the body when they vote democrat.

[Mom MD]

Actually none of this is new technology. ECMO has been around for years. It’s the same machine used in the OR for open heart surgery. It is difficult to use outside the OR. A surgeon (to insert the catheters) and a perfusionist (to run the machine) have to be available within a couple of minutes, or it is too late to start. Maximal useful time is usually just a couple of hours — the longer the heart is bypassed the harder it is to restart. If things align just right it can be useful but practically it almost never happens

[palmer]

This is clearly a hoax, as we all know countries with universal healthcare don't innovate anything

Search term "universal" was not found: http://www.alfredhealth.org.au/Assets/Files/Strategic_Plan_2012_2015.pdf

[itsahoot]

When does the soul leave the body?

No one ever asked Lazarus about that, and he is probably the only one who could have answered that question.

Have to wait and see I guess.

[presidio9]

Looks like a job for Rick & Co...