A&A Case Reports 最新文献

Chest pain during labor can have many etiologies, one of which is myocardial ischemia. We report a 38-year-old woman with American Society of Anesthesiology physical status I scheduled for elective cesarean delivery who experienced chest pain and electrocardiographic signs of myocardial ischemia immediately after carbetocin administration. Subsequent investigations revealed an aberrant right coronary artery originating from the left coronary sinus coursing between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. This was considered the likely cause of the patient's chest pain. The patient gave written permission for the authors to publish this report.

Traumatic ventral septal defect may be sustained after either blunt force or penetrating trauma to the chest. Severity ranges from asymptomatic to acute decompensated heart failure. Our patient suffered a stab wound to the chest and was initially taken to the operating room for repair of a lacerated right ventricle. Subsequent postoperative hemodynamic deterioration prompted a bedside transthoracic echocardiogram, which failed to identify causal factors. A transesophageal echocardiogram performed immediately after ventral septal defect was demonstrated. This case serves to highlight the gaps in current standard practice and encourages the use of transesophageal echocardiogram as a screening tool in patients after penetrating cardiac injuries.

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) contributes to 25% of maternal deaths worldwide. Abnormal placentation is a well-known culprit of PPH. Although controversial, iliac artery balloon occlusion has been used in patients to decrease bleeding. The use of antifibrinolytic agents, such as tranexamic acid (TXA), have gained popularity in the management of PPH. We present a 35-year-old parturient with placenta percreta that was managed with internal iliac artery balloon occlusion with concomitant use of TXA during urgent cesarean hysterectomy with subsequent aortoiliac thrombosis formation. The role of both TXA and arterial balloons in PPH, along with their respective limitations, are discussed.

We present a 68-year-old woman who developed acute cerebral subdural hematoma (SDH) early after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion. Four hours postoperatively, the patient complained of headache and nausea. Enhanced cranial computed tomography showed cerebral SDH. Despite no obvious intraoperative dural damage, we suggest that cerebrospinal fluid leakage by incidental dural tear likely caused the SDH. To our knowledge, this is the first report of detected cerebral SDH immediately after spinal surgery in spite of no neurological deficits.

With the growing rate of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, patients with end-stage heart failure and LVAD support are presenting for a variety of noncardiac surgeries. We describe a case of urgent posterior lumbar decompression for spinal stenosis in a 73-year-old man with HeartMateII LVAD, which presented significant anesthetic challenges in terms of positioning, blood loss, and coagulopathy.

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) encompasses a wide spectrum of rare genetic disorders in which an abnormality in collagen leads to loss or absence of normal intracellular bridges. Friction or shear forces on the skin and mucosa result in blister, bullae, and scar formation. We present our experience in the management of a patient with EB who required multiple procedures for squamous cell carcinoma of the left arm, including forequarter amputation. We describe the anesthetic challenges in caring for a patient with EB undergoing major orthopedic surgery.

Laparoscopic surgery is an evolving surgical modality in children, which has been applied to increasingly more complex surgeries and patients, including patients with renal insufficiency. These patients are particularly susceptible to the challenges that laparoscopy imposes on their altered physiology, leading to marked electrolyte disturbances, including metabolic acidosis and hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia has the potential for marked impairment of cardiac conduction. We report 2 cases where significant, potentially lethal hyperkalemia developed during laparoscopic nephrectomy in adolescents with renal insufficiency. Awareness of this issue, as well as adequate preparation and intraoperative monitoring are essential to preventing this life-threatening complication.

Hypnosis has been proven to be a powerful tool in the management of anxiety and pain. It allows for an increase of pain threshold, which can reach the level of surgical analgesia. Recently injection of local anesthetics around the serratus muscle has been presented as an alternative to paravertebral block for cancer breast surgery. We report the successful use of hypnosis in combination with an axillary compartment block for lumpectomy and axillary lymph node dissection.

Difficult airway management in the gravid patient is a well-described phenomenon. We present a case of emergent cesarean delivery complicated by a "cannot intubate, cannot ventilate" scenario that was later determined to be secondary to an allergic, IgE-mediated reaction to epidurally administered local anesthetic.

In a healthy 12-year-old female with scoliosis, prone positioning resulted in pressor-refractory cardiovascular collapse. Resumption of supine position immediately improved hemodynamics. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) revealed a collapsed left atrium and biventricular failure. Repeat prone positioning resulted in a recurrence of hypotension. However, hemodynamic stabilization was restored and maintained by repositioning chest pads caudally. The patient successfully underwent a 6-hour scoliosis repair without perioperative morbidity. With this case, we aim to: (1) reintroduce awareness of this mechanical obstructive cause of reversible hypotension; (2) highlight the use of intraoperative TEE during prone hemodynamic collapse; and (3) suggest an alternative prone positioning technique if chest compression results in hemodynamic instability.