Management of severe pulmonary thromboembolism undetected by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography: a case report

Abstract

Corresponding author Sung Sik Park Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 130, Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu 41944, Korea Tel: +82-53-200-5877 Fax: +82-53-426-2760 E-mail : sspark@knu.ac.kr ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5574-7513 Pulmonary thromboembolism is a fatal disease most frequently caused by deep vein thrombosis. It is important to early diagnose, prevent, and manage deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism. However, under general anesthesia, the clinical signs of pulmonary thromboembolism are vague, which complicates its timely diagnosis and treatment. In the present case, transesophageal echocardiography was first performed to diagnose severe pulmonary embolism during pelvic fracture surgery; after computed tomography confirmation, embolectomy was successfully performed.