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Case Reports
. 2012:2012:208430.
doi: 10.1155/2012/208430. Epub 2012 Jan 19.

Venous air embolism leading to cardiac arrest in an infant with cyanotic congenital heart disease

Scott C Watkins  1 , Lewis McCarver, Alicia Vanbebber, David P Bichell
Affiliations
Case Reports

Venous air embolism leading to cardiac arrest in an infant with cyanotic congenital heart disease

Scott C Watkins et al. Case Rep Anesthesiol. 2012.

Abstract

Gas emboli, including venous and arterial, are a rare but important complication of pediatric cardiac surgery. They have the potential to have devastating consequences and require prompt recognition and treatment. We present a case of gas embolism occurring in the immediate postoperative period in an infant with cyanotic congenital heart disease after palliative cardiac surgery resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest. The embolism was diagnosed by visualization of air within the vessel creating an airlock and occluding pulmonary blood flow.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preoperative anatomy (mBTS: modified Blalock-Taussig Shunt; PA: pulmonary artery).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Depiction of surgical anastomosis with air bubbles at SVC-PA junction. (RSCV: right superior cava vein; LSCV: left superior cava vein; CVL: central venous line; RIJ: right internal jugular; LIJ: left internal jugular; SVC: superior vena cava; RPA: right pulmonary artery; LPA: left pulmonary artery).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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