CJA
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

This Article
Right arrow Résumé de cet Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Additional Material
Right arrow Submit a scholarly reply
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bellingham, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Luke, P. P.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bellingham, G. A.
Right arrow Articles by Luke, P. P.
Canadian Journal of Anesthesia 55:295-301 (2008)
© Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society, 2008

Case Reports/Case Series

Case report: Retroperitoneoscopic pheochromocytoma removal in an adult with Eisenmenger’s syndrome

[Présentation de cas : Ablation rétropéritonéoscopique d’un phéochromocytome chez un adulte souffrant du syndrome d’Eisenmenger]

Geoff A. Bellingham, MD*, Achal K. Dhir, MD FRCA* and Patrick P. Luke, MD FRCS(C){dagger},{ddagger},§

* From the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, University of Western Ontario, the
{dagger} Division of Urology, University of Western Ontario, the
{ddagger} Multi-Organ Transplant Program (MOTP), and the
§ Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics (CSTAR), London, Ontario, Canada.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Achal K. Dhir, Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre and the University of Western Ontario, 339 Windermere Road, London, Ontario N6A 5A5, Canada. Phone: 519-663-3022; Fax: 519- 663-2957; E-mail: adhir2{at}uwo.ca

Purpose: Patients with uncorrected or palliated, complex congenital heart lesions requiring surgery can benefit from laparoscopic techniques, but retroperitoneal insufflation may render them hemodynamically unstable. Alterations in cardiopulmonary physiology during retroperitoneal insufflation have been studied, yet there are no cases detailing this approach in patients with congenital heart lesions. We present a case of a pheochromocytoma removal via retroperitoneoscopy in a patient with a palliated, complex heart lesion.

Clinical features: A 28-yr-old woman was admitted for removal of a pheochromocytoma through retroperitoneoscopy. The main feature of her heart disease was a complete atrioventricular canal defect. She eventually developed Eisenmenger’s syndrome and became chronically cyanotic. Retroperitoneal insufflation with CO2 gas did not change hemodynamic variables. Significant increases in peak airway pressures were encountered, possibly due to the distending effects of insufflation, or due to increasing the minute ventilation to reduce exogenous CO2. Arterial CO2 remained stable, but a significant increase between end-tidal and arterial levels became apparent with insufflation. Tumour manipulation led to systemic (and possibly pulmonary) hypertension, which exacerbated ventricular dysfunction. This condition resulted in atrioventricular valve regurgitation, as seen on transesophageal echocardiography, and diminished pulmonary blood flow with subsequent desaturation. These changes resolved with antihypertensive medications. The patient’s trachea was extubated four hours postoperatively, and she recovered uneventfully.

Conclusion: Patients with altered cardiopulmonary physiology may tolerate retroperitoneoscopic insufflation with relative hemodynamic stability. Appropriate use of short-acting, vasoactive drugs and aggressive monitoring of PaCO2 and hemodynamic variables is required.

1 Lovell AT. Anaesthetic implications of grown-up congenital heart disease. Br J Anaesth 2004; 93: 129–39.[Free Full Text]

2 Goodwin TM, Gherman RB, Hameed A, Elkayam U. Favorable response of Eisenmenger syndrome to inhaled nitric oxide during pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999; 180: 64–7.[Medline]

3 Budts W, Van Pelt N, Gillyns H, Gewillig M, Van De Werf F, Janssens S. Residual pulmonary vasoreactivity to inhaled nitric oxide in patients with severe obstructive pulmonary hypertension and Eisenmenger syndrome. Heart 2001; 86: 553–8.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

4 Kiely DG, Cargill RI, Lipworth BJ. Effects of hypercapnia on hemodynamic, inotropic, lusitropic, and electrophysiologic indices in humans. Chest 1996; 109: 1215–21.[Medline]

5 Wolf JS Jr, Monk TG, McDougall EM, McClennan BL, Clayman RV. The extraperitoneal approach and subcutaneous emphysema are associated with greater absorption of carbon dioxide during laparoscopic renal surgery. J Urol 1995; 154: 959–63.[Medline]

6 Streich B, Decailliot F, Perney C, Duvaldestin P. Increased carbon dioxide absorption during retroperitoneal laparoscopy. Br J Anaesth 2003; 91: 793–6.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

7 Mullett CE, Viale JP, Sagnard PE, et al. Pulmonary CO2 elimination during surgical procedures using intra- or extraperitoneal CO2 insufflation. Anesth Analg 1993; 76: 622–6.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

8 Wulkan ML, Vasudevan SA. Is end-tidal CO2 an accurate measure of arterial CO2 during laparoscopic procedures in children and neonates with cyanotic congenital heart disease? J Pediatr Surg 2001; 36: 1234–6.[Medline]

9 Lazzell VA, Burrows FA. Stability of the intraoperative arterial to end-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure difference in children with congenital heart disease. Can J Anaesth 1991; 38: 859–65.[Abstract]

10 Burrows FA. Physiologic dead space, venous admixture, and the arterial to end-tidal carbon dioxide difference in infants and children undergoing cardiac surgery. Anesthesiology 1989; 70: 219–25.[Medline]

11 Fletcher R. Relationship between alveolar deadspace and arterial oxygenation in children with congenital cardiac disease. Br J Anaesth 1989; 62: 168–76.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

12 Nunn JF, Hill DW. Respiratory dead space and arterial to end-tidal carbon dioxide tension difference in anesthetized man. J Appl Physiol 1960; 15: 383–9.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

13 Whittenberger JL, McGregor M, Berglund E, Borst HG. Influence of state of inflation of the lung on pulmonary vascular resistance. J Appl Physiol 1960; 15: 878–82.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

14 Robotham JL, Lixfeld W, Holland L, et al. The effects of positive end-expiratory pressure on right and left ventricular performance. Am Rev Respir Dis 1980; 121: 677–83.[Medline]

15 Pinsky MR, Desmet JM, Vincent JL. Effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on right ventricular function in humans. Am Rev Respir Dis 1992; 146: 681–7.[Medline]

16 Giebler RM, Kabatnik M, Stegen BH, Scherer RU, Thomas M, Peters J. Retroperitoneal and intraperitoneal CO2 insufflation have markedly different cardiovascular effects. J Surg Res 1997; 68: 153–60.[Medline]

17 Kashtan J, Green JF, Parsons EQ, Holcroft JW. Hemodynamic effect of increased abdominal pressure. J Surg Res 1981; 30: 249–55.[Medline]

18 Giebler RM, Behrends M, Steffens T, Walz MK, Peltgen K, Peters J. Intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal carbon dioxide insufflation evoke different effects on caval vein pressure gradients in humans: evidence for the starling resistor concept of abdominal venous return. Anesthesiology 2000; 92: 1568–80.[Medline]

19 Atallah F, Bastide-Heulin T, Soulie M, et al. Haemodynamic changes during retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy for phaeochromocytoma. Br J Anaesth 2001; 86: 731–3.[Abstract/Free Full Text]







HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.