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Case Reports
. 2024 Sep 18;24(1):333.
doi: 10.1186/s12871-024-02713-4.

Severe stress cardiomyopathy following spinal corrective surgery for scoliosis complicated with pectus excavatum: a case report

Xuhong Yan  1 , Juan Zhang  2 , Jing Hao  2 , Jun Xie  3 , Yue Sun  4 , Zhengliang Ma  5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Severe stress cardiomyopathy following spinal corrective surgery for scoliosis complicated with pectus excavatum: a case report

Xuhong Yan et al. BMC Anesthesiol. .

Abstract

Background: Stress cardiomyopathy (SCM) is an acute heart failure syndrome characterized by transient, usually reversible left ventricular systolic dysfunction with normal or enhanced basal compensatory wall motion abnormalities involving the left ventricular anterior septum and apex, resulting in a "ballooning" appearance. However, it has rarely been reported in patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Case presentation: We report a case of severe stress cardiomyopathy in a scoliosis patient with pectus excavatum who underwent spinal corrective surgery. During the wake-up period, circulatory collapse occurred. After multidisciplinary consultation, the patient was diagnosed with stress cardiomyopathy. At last, she had a good prognosis after a series of treatments including ECMO.

Conclusion: Stress cardiomyopathy is a reversible but uncommon condition. It can cause death if it is not diagnosed in time. Consequently, this report should improve the awareness of orthopedists and anesthesiologists for timely identification and management. For patients with potential risk factors, timely preoperative intervention should be performed to reduce the occurrence of stress cardiomyopathy.

Keywords: IABP; Intra-aortic balloon pump; Pectus excavatum; Scoliosis; Spinal corrective surgery; Stress cardiomyopathy; Takotsubo cardiomyopathy; VA-ECMO; Veno-arterial extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ECG:1st night postoperatively Torsades de pointes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Echocardiography: the apex was obtuse, EF21%, SV13ml
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Pre and post-operative anteroposterior radiographs of the whole spine, Cobb angle 52°
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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