Tripura Doctors Carry Out State’s First ECMO Procedure for Paraquat Poisoning

Tripura’s medical community achieved a landmark when a team of physicians carried out the state’s first extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) procedure. The life‑support technique was employed to stabilize a patient who had ingested paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide.

ECMO functions as an artificial lung, oxygenating the blood outside the body while the patient’s own respiratory system recovers. Because paraquat poisoning rapidly damages lung tissue, conventional ventilation often proves insufficient, prompting doctors to resort to this advanced modality.

Hospital officials said the successful intervention demonstrates growing critical‑care capabilities in the region and will pave the way for broader use of ECMO in severe poisoning and respiratory failure cases across the state.