***republished with permission from the SMACC team from: http://www.smacc.net.au/2016/02/chris-ho-vs-joe-bellezzo-ecpr-is-a-step-too-far/

Are you ready for this rumble in the urban jungle?? Chris Ho vs Joe Bellezzo in the no holds barred debate about whether ECMO CPR is a step too far? The next cage match from SMACC Chicago.

Chris and Joe are the director and vice-director respectively, of Emergency Medicine at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California. They are two of the leading experts in ECPR, with Joe being one of the key players behind EDECMO. On a day-to-day basis, they are friends and colleagues, working together in one of the very few centers around the world to deliver ECPR. However in this Cage Match, friends become foe and there are no limitations to how far each will go to prove their side of the debate.

On the AFFIRMATIVE side, Chris Ho delivers a convincing argument for why ECPR IS a step too far. From lack of evidence to the cost of “re-animating the dead” and everything in between, Chris Ho delivers a practical approach to the argument and demonstrates without a doubt why we are not ready for this to be the next step in resuscitation.

On the NEGATIVE side, Joe Bellezzo delivers an outstanding rebuttal to “Dr Ho’s Nutty Brown Bullshit”. In an inspiring argument filled with anecdotes and occasional facts, Joe Bellezzo makes it impossible to think the ECPR shouldn’t be the next step in our ALS algorithm,

Despite strong arguments from either side, as in all debates, there must be a winner. Do you agree with the outcome?

If you want to find out whether Chris and Joe were able to kiss and make up, check out the exclusive ICN interview with the two, where they discuss more on ECPR.