title: Air embolism during off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery -A case report-.
abstract: There have been several reports of gas embolism occurring during off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (OPCAB) surgery. However, all these cases of air embolism were associated with the repair of venous circulation, using a CO(2) blower. In this report, we describe a rare case of air embolism in the coronary arteries associated with the use of a CO(2) blower during OPCAB. There was no injury to the veins during OPCAB. The air embolism was treated successfully with cardiopulmonary bypass.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Choo-Hoon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Young Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hyun-Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Cho