Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation Mimics Aortic Dissection on CAT Scan.

A 66 year-old female presented with refractory acute congestive heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and ventricular tachyarrhythmia. Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was placed via femoral cannulation for salvage and stabilized. CAT scan of the chest performed as a part of heart transplant work-up, demonstrated an unequal distribution of intravenous contrast in the aortic arch (Figure 1). Radiologist’s preliminary reading was of “aortic dissection” while in fact this is truly “normal ECMO flow”