Acute pulmonary embolectomy three days following a coronary artery bypass graft procedure
Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital, Berne, Switzerland
Summary
Pulmonary embolism is very rarely reported early after cardiac surgery, most probably due to full heparinisation during cardiopulmonary bypass. We report a 66-year-old man without thromboembolic history who presented three days after a coronary artery bypass grafting procedure with acute dyspnoea and haemodynamic instability. A CT scan confirmed paracentral bilateral pulmonary embolism requiring an urgent and successful embolectomy. Review of the literature confirms that pulmonary embolism may occur in up to 3% of post-cardiopulmonary bypass patients.
The possibility of pulmonary embolism must be taken into consideration in post-cardiopulmonary bypass patients with acute onset of chest pain and respiratory insufficiency.