General anesthesia with isoflurane for diaphragmatic hernia repair during ECMO.

Isoflurane has been administered via the oxygenator of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuit to provide anesthesia and prevent hemodynamic instability during surgical repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. A comparison of a series of patients treated with isoflurane demonstrates that there is less fluctuation in heart rate and blood pressure than when surgery is performed under fentanyl analgesia alone.