A & A case reports
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Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are associated with conditions that may complicate the perioperative course of pediatric heart transplants. A 7-year-old girl with dilated cardiomyopathy supported by a Toyobo-NCVC left VAD (Toyobo-National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan), a pulsatile extracorporeal device, and preoperatively anticoagulated with warfarin presented for orthotopic heart transplant. ⋯ Preoperative anticoagulation and the presence of a VAD are associated with postbypass coagulopathy and vasoplegia. We describe a case in which these conditions were successfully treated with no thrombotic complications and minimal need of vasopressors for hemodynamic stability.
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General anesthesia was administered in an 18-year-old man for removal of hardware from his right knee using a King Laryngeal Tube supraglottic airway. An hour after extubation, he reported inability to swallow with no respiratory distress. ⋯ During the positioning of the King Laryngeal Tube, it was pulled back to ensure adequate ventilation. The inflated cuff could have dragged the uvula and folded it on itself, leading to venous congestion and edema.
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In this report, we describe the case of a young female with Down syndrome who presented to the anesthesia service after pulseless electrical activity arrest with a King LT(S)-D extraglottic airway device in situ. She had multiple predictors of difficult intubation, including what appeared to be a submental mass consistent with Ludwig's angina. She went on to receive an urgent tracheotomy because of those predictors but had full resolution of the submental mass on removal of the extraglottic airway device, which had been overinflated at the time of insertion. We outline the various techniques to establish a definitive airway with an extraglottic device in place.