Laceration of left pulmonary artery during mediastinoscopy.
During a mediastinoscopy on a 65-year-old man with a carcinoma of the lung, the left pulmonary artery was biopsied inadvertently. The patient became hypotensive due to a loss of 1500 ml of blood in less than 5 minutes. Rapid administration of plasma and whole blood and emergency thoracotomy to control bleeding were necessary. The authors suggest securing an IV route using a large-bore catheter and stress the need to be alert to the possibility of life-threatening hemorrhage occurring during mediastinoscopy.
D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy / Q000009:adverse effects; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000295:instrumentation; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008481:Mediastinoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000293:injuries*