Alfred Health News

Earlier this year, Alfred intensive care specialists flew more than 15,000 kilometres to give a Queensland father a second chance at life. 

When Brett Goodban arrived in Japan, he never dreamed his return home would be at the hands of leading critical care specialists aboard a chartered jet. 

While visiting family, the 41-year-old father of three suffered complications caused by an aggressive strain of flu.  It led to an infection that triggered heart, liver and kidney failure.  He was soon fighting for life in a Japanese intensive care unit, and needed to return to Australia to continue his treatment and be considered for transplantation. 

Alfred specialists, Dr Steve Philpot and Dr Paul Nixon travelled to Tokyo to collect Mr Goodban - and were part of a collaborative venture involving The Alfred, Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, and Careflight.  

The duo flew on a commercial plane to Brisbane before boarding a chartered jet loaded with medical equipment bound for Tokyo. More than 55 hours later they returned, tired, after a successful mission to bring him home. 

"This is the longest and furthest retrieval we've done on a patient being kept alive with ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), an advanced form of heart-lung bypass," Dr Philpot said. 

The plan to transfer the Queenslander back to Australia needed great coordination - with intensivist Dr Vincent Pellegrino spending many hours arranging the retrieval from his base within The Alfred's intensive care unit. 

"We had to get it right first time, and our detailed planning was absolutely necessary for his survival," Dr Philpot said. 

It took the team five hours just to change Brett from the pumps, monitors and life support systems onto equipment that could be used on the plane ride home. 

The Alfred performs ECMO on 60 patients each year - more than any other centre in Australia. Professor Carlos Scheinkestel is director of The Alfred's Intensive Care Unit.  He said he is proud of the team's achievements.   

"There would be few people in the world capable of evacuating a patient this sick," Prof Scheinkestel said.  

"We successfully managed this highly complex case for 10 hours, on-board a plane without any additional supports available.  

"It's a tremendous outcome for Mr Goodban, and the learnings from this case will benefit our team and help them to care for other Victorians and Australians in need." 

Mr Goodban was successfully weaned from ECMO support in Brisbane and has returned home.