Anesthetic Management of a Parturient With Cardiac Tamponade due to Heart Perforation by an Atrial Septum Defect Repair Device: A Case Report.

Abstract

With the ongoing development of safer anesthesia, pregnant women with cardiac disease are presenting more frequently for cesarean delivery. We report the successful anesthetic management of a 31-year-old parturient, on long-term anticoagulant therapy, who presented with acute cardiac tamponade due to perforation of the left atrium from a dislodged atrial septum defect occluder. The cesarean delivery was followed by temporary repair of the perforation without extracorporeal circulation (EC) due to concerns about excessive postpartum bleeding. The definitive repair of the atrial defect and the perforation were successfully accomplished under (EC) 5 days after delivery.