Cerebral Air Embolism during Open Heart Surgery with Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Case Report.

, Kim, Deog Young; , Park, Chang il; , Yu, Su Jin

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine 2011;35(1):143-148.

Kim, Deog Young , Park, Chang il , Yu, Su Jin

Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, Korea. bluedimple@yuhs.ac

Abstract

Cerebral air embolism is an unusual event that is mainly an iatrogenic cause, such as open heart surgery. We present a case of cerebral air embolism in a patient undergoing ASD patch repair with cardiopulmonary bypass. He had a status epilepticus, loss of consciousness and marked left limb weakness immediately after the operation. Diffusion- weighted MRI with angiography showed acute infarction in right entire hemisphere with patent internal carotid and intracranial arteries, and glucose PET brain scan showed severe decreased uptakes in right hemisphere. He recovered markedly with mild motor impairment of left upper and lower limbs in the 6 months after onset.

Key Words: Cerebral air embolism, Cardiopulmonary bypass