A & A case reports
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Not all postpartum headaches are caused by dural puncture, and it is possible for postpartum patients to have >1 cause for headache. After neuraxial block with an incidental large-gauge dural puncture, our patient developed a severe, classic postdural puncture headache which initially responded to an epidural blood patch. ⋯ Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enlarged pituitary gland with a possible hemorrhagic focus; all endocrine parameters were normal. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with lymphocytic adenohypophysitis, an autoimmune inflammation of the anterior pituitary gland.
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A 42-year-old obese woman (body mass index = 30.2 kg/m) presented for urgent anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion. She had been taking oral naltrexone-bupropion extended-release (Contrave, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc, La Jolla, CA) for the past 6 months and continued using it until 12 hours preoperatively. Despite discontinuation of this medication, and employing an intraoperative and postoperative multimodal analgesia strategy, immediate pain control was inadequately achieved. Patients taking opioid antagonists who present for surgery pose unique challenges to the anesthesiologist and require extensive preoperative interdisciplinary discussions and planning for pain control throughout the perioperative period.
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Percutaneous valve-in-valve therapy is a life-saving procedure for patients at high risk of reoperation due to dysfunctional bioprosthetic valves. We have reviewed 3 typical cases of a valve-in-valve procedure using high-quality images to demonstrate the suitability of this method for aortic, mitral, and tricuspid positions. Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography combined with other modalities such as computerized tomography and fluoroscopy are key elements for anesthesia and procedural guidance, especially as immediate tools to assess valvular function and specific procedure-related complications.