Pulmonary thromboembolism after videothoracoscopic excision of a mediastinal tumor; report of a case
Okamoto, T.; Okubo, K.; Isobe, J.; Ueno, Y.
Kyobu Geka. Japanese Journal of Thoracic Surgery 56(10): 889-892
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-5252 PMID: 13677929 Document Number: 558972
We experienced a case of pulmonary thromboembolism after videothoracoscopic excision of a mediastinal tumor. A 57-year-old woman underwent videothoracoscopic excision of an upper mediastinal tumor, which was pathologically diagnosed as neurilemmoma. On the first postoperative day, she suddenly suffered from fatigue and blood-gas analysis showed hypoxemia. No abnormal shadow was seen on chest X-ray. Lung perfusion scintigram showed multiple embolism. She was treated with anticoagulants and recovered well. We should pay attention to the possibility of pulmonary thromboembolism after video-assisted thoracic surgery as well as thoracotomy, especially when patients have risk factors for pulmonary thromboembolism.