A & A case reports
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The maternal mortality rate for parturients with severe pulmonary hypertension is 30% to 50%. General, epidural, and combined low-dose spinal-epidural anesthesia have been used successfully for cesarean deliveries in patients with pulmonary hypertension. We describe a cesarean delivery performed using an intrathecal catheter in a 25-year-old morbidly obese (body mass index, 82 kg/m) woman (gravida 3, para 2 at 32 weeks of gestation) who had severe pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular failure, pulmonary emboli, and obstructive sleep apnea. We discuss the anesthetic considerations for parturients with severe pulmonary hypertension undergoing cesarean delivery including the selection of anesthetic technique, vasopressors, and uterotonic agents.
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One-lung ventilation is challenging in patients with difficult airway who require lung surgery. The choice of airway technique remains limited in patients with permanent tracheostomy after total laryngectomy. Conventional airway management techniques and available airway equipment have limited the options for securing airway in such patients, and dedicated airway equipment is not available for the management of such patients. Here, using endobronchial blocker through adult silicon hyperflex tracheostomy tube with an adjustable flange, we report a successful airway management for 1-lung ventilation in a patient with total laryngectomy with permanent tracheostomy.
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Tetra-amelia syndrome is a congenital disorder associated with near or complete absence of all 4 limbs. Noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring may be difficult or impossible in such patients. We describe the use of a finger cuff blood pressure system for continuous noninvasive blood pressure monitoring in an infant with near-complete tetra-amelia undergoing laparoscopic gastrostomy tube placement. This case suggests the potential use of such a blood pressure monitoring system for other patients with comparable deformities.
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Case Reports
Bilateral Continuous Suprascapular Nerve Blocks for Bilateral Shoulder Hemiarthroplasty.
We report a novel case of a patient undergoing a bilateral shoulder hemiarthroplasty for chronic bilateral shoulder dislocations with proximal humeral fractures. Bilateral selective suprascapular nerve catheters were placed preoperatively with the intent to provide continuous local anesthetic-based analgesia while sparing diaphragmatic function. Postoperative respiratory mechanics were relatively spared while numerical rating scale pain scores were suggestive of analgesic benefit.
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Case Reports
Continuous Quadratus Lumborum Block for Postoperative Pain in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Case Report.
A 69-year-old man with a history of chronic pain and opioid use presented for total hip arthroplasty. In the interests of ensuring early mobilization and pain control, we chose a continuous quadratus lumborum block technique, a novel ultrasound-guided block that has not yet been described for total hip arthroplasty, hypothesizing that it would be motor-sparing. ⋯ He was able to ambulate on the first postoperative day, reporting pain scores between 0 and 3/10. The quadratus lumborum block is a promising technique that, in our patient, was motor-sparing and provided excellent pain control.