A & A case reports
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A 3-year-old girl suffering from Stevens-Johnsons Syndrome with severe sloughing of the oropharyngeal mucosa was brought to the operating room for an emergent tracheostomy after multiple failed attempts to intubate the trachea in the pediatric intensive care unit. However, a retrograde tracheal intubation was successfully performed in the operating room to secure her airway, after which a tracheostomy was performed. Retrograde intubation can be a quick and effective method for securing the difficult airway.
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Labels and medications with similar appearances have the potential to harm patients and cause delays in hospital services. We report a problem involving the Maxtec MAX-1 and MAX-11 oxygen sensors which are commonly used on anesthesia machines. ⋯ The incident required the replacement of a MAX-11 sensor with a MAX-1 sensor to ensure proper functioning of the anesthesia machine. Identification of these cases can educate health care professionals of potential sources of labeling errors and safety issues and can also bring about Food and Drug Administration policy changes.
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During a posterior segmental spinal fusion procedure, a 71-year-old woman developed cardiac and pulmonary embolism characterized by nonsustained ventricular tachycardia during cement injection, rapid and severe hypoxemia, and hemodynamic instability. Management included exploratory cardiotomy under cardiopulmonary bypass and removal of the emboli from the pulmonary vessels. Postoperative recovery was successful, and the patient was discharged without sequelae. We discuss the pathophysiology of bone cement implantation syndrome during spinal fusion, possible causative factors, and treatment alternatives.
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Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery has been increasingly performed because of its presumed advantages over traditional surgery performed through median sternotomy. Cardiac herniation is an extremely rare complication initially reported by Bettman and Tannenbaum in 1948. ⋯ In this case report, we present 2 cases of cardiac herniation occurring after minimally invasive mitral valve surgery; the 2 cases had different surgical exposures and clinical presentations. Early diagnosis is crucial for a timely lifesaving definitive management.