title: Coronary sinus injury during retrograde cardioplegia: a report of three cases.
abstract: Coronary sinus injuries related to the use of retrograde cardioplegia are uncommon. In most cases injuries are encountered with overinflation of the coronary sinus catheter balloon or traumatic catheter insertion. This article describes three cases of coronary sinus injury during retrograde cardioplegia administration in patients with ventricular hypertrophy, while the heart was manually retracted to expose the posterior myocardium. We propose that the risk of coronary sinus injury during retrograde cardioplegia, in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, can be minimized by avoiding excessive retraction of the heart, deflation of the retrograde catheter during retraction, and the use of a left ventricular vent.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Kshettry
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lakhanpal
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kroshus
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006324:Heart Arrest, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male