Wir überwinden Grenzen

Antonja Humpert almost died after an appendectomy at the local hospital. Her lungs failed during the operation. Attempts at treatment by the doctors failed. When the 22-year-old was brought to Freiburg University Hospital by rescue helicopter, she was barely breathing. The doctors at the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine immediately started what is known as ECMO - a gentle invasive lung replacement procedure.

"It was Monday. I felt sick, very sick, but I thought it was just an upset stomach and worked until half past four anyway. I even went to the gym afterwards," says Antonja Humpert. That same evening, that Monday in April 2016, she went to hospital in her home town on Lake Constance. The doctor diagnosed her with food poisoning. He gave her painkillers and sent her home. But Antonja got worse and worse. Her nausea was compounded by severe pain, so she went to the emergency room of the local hospital the following Sunday. The diagnosis: a ruptured appendix. An emergency operation was performed immediately. But her lung collapsed during the procedure. "I was told that I had had asthma attacks during the operation. After the operation, I was treated for pneumonia. But I was no longer aware of it," reports the young woman. They tried to treat the damaged lung for a few more days and then decided to fly Antonja to Freiburg University Hospital. "I almost stopped breathing on my dad's birthday."

Invasive lung replacement as a lifesaver

"When Antonja Humpert arrived at our hospital, her lungs had almost stopped taking in oxygen, even though she was already being ventilated. She was unconscious," says Dr. Johannes Kalbhenn, Managing Senior Physician in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the Freiburg University Medical Center. The intensive care specialists in Freiburg immediately started extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO for short, in which a machine took over Antonja's lung function. "Although ECMO is a technically complex procedure, it leads to fewer complications than other ventilation methods," says Dr. Kalbhenn. Blood was taken from Antonja via large cannulas, freed from carbon dioxide in the machine, enriched with oxygen and then pumped back into her body. This form of ventilation protects the lungs and gives them time to recover. "I then woke up again under ECMO," Antonja recalls. "It turned out that gastric juice had got into my lungs during the operation and my lungs were failing as a result."

Antonja's parents visited their daughter as often as the 100-kilometer distance to her home town allowed. "After my lungs were working stably again, we discussed with Dr. Kalbhenn that further treatment would take place in a clinic closer to home." Antonja's inflammation values showed that the treatment had to continue at this clinic. "My appendix had already burst two days before the emergency operation. My abdomen should have been cleaned accordingly, but this was not done sufficiently during the first operation." Abscesses had formed. A seven-hour operation was necessary to completely clean Antonja's abdomen afterwards. Antonja was discharged for rehabilitation in mid-May.

These experiences have changed her life. "I'm healthy again, I can go jogging again, but I live more consciously now than I used to. I appreciate many things much more, the great view of Lake Constance, the time I spend in the fresh air. I have a much closer relationship with my family and I have also decided to change some things in my life." She took the first step in October last year: Antonja moved out of her home and moved in with her boyfriend.