Melbourne’s COVID coma miracles: Patients tell of months ‘off’

Victorian hospitals have broken new ground in COVID-19 treatment, placing patients into comas for months to save their lives.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, or ECMO, is the most extreme form of life support and typically only considered for an average of fewer than 10 days.

But Victorian specialists stretched its use to up to 130 days, saving the lives of 50 patients.

Stiven Taleski, 33, told Neil Mitchell he spent 84 days in a coma before waking up in January this year.

“I thought it was probably about five days … but yeah, I was three or four months off and I was in a different year,” he said.

“It was very, very daunting and very hard to come to terms with at the start.”

Press PLAY below to hear his incredible story

The Alfred’s head of ECMO, Associate Professor Vincent Pellegrino, told Neil Mitchell they’ve been able to save 78 per cent of ECMO patients, which has halved the rates of death seen around the world.

“It’s the same machine used all over the world, same training and same theory, but it was just the organisation that was set up prior, in my opinion, which resulted in such improved outcomes,” he said.