Intrathoracic fire during preparation of the left internal thoracic artery for coronary artery bypass grafting.
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.
Friedrich
Martin
M
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. m.friedrich@med.uni-goettingen.de
Tirilomis
Theodor
T
Schmitto
Jan D
JD
Popov
Aron F
AF
Mokashi
Suyog A
SA
Hinterthaner
Marc
M
Hanekop
Gunnar G
GG
Zwaka
Paul
P
Schoendube
Friedrich A
FA
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*