title: Postoperative right atrial and pulmonary embolism after prolonged spinal surgery.
abstract: Perioperative pulmonary thromboembolism can proceed rapidly with grave prognosis, in which immediate or accurate diagnosis and management is not easy. According to the literatures, patients receiving spinal surgery are at relatively lower risk of developing thromboembolism. We would like to present a case of postoperative pulmonary thromboembolism which developed after a prolonged lumbar spinal surgery. Tachycardia and unstable hemodynamics were noted postoperatively. Pulmonary and right atrial thrombi were disclosed by transesophageal echocardiography. Although cardiotomy and thrombectomy were immediately performed, the patient finally died 3 days after the operation. The pathogenesis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the surgical patients, the risk factors which predispose a patient to VTE, diagnosis, and treatment as well as the prophylactic measures of VTE are herein reviewed and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lio
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Din
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Neu
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D013131:Spine / Q000601:surgery*; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology*