title: Intrathoracic fire during preparation of the left internal thoracic artery for coronary artery bypass grafting.
abstract: A surgical fire is a serious complication not previously described in the literature with regard to the thoracic cavity. We report a case in which an intrathoracic fire developed following an air leak combined with high pressure oxygen ventilation in a patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The patient presented to our institution with diffuse coronary artery disease and angina pectoris. He was treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery, including left internal thoracic artery harvesting. Additionally to this rare presentation of an intrathoracic fire, a brief review of surgical fires is included to this paper.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. m.friedrich@med.uni-goettingen.de
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Theodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tirilomis
authors.forename: Jan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Schmitto
authors.forename: Aron F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Popov
authors.forename: Suyog A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mokashi
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hinterthaner
authors.forename: Gunnar G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Hanekop
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zwaka
authors.forename: Friedrich A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Schoendube
mesh_terms: D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008323:Mammary Arteries; D008875:Middle Aged; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015503:Surgical Sponges / Q000009:adverse effects*