Saturday, May 30, 2009

Cardiac arrest as a major complication of bilateral cervico-dorsal sympathectomy

Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2009 Feb;8(2):238-9. Epub 2008 Nov 27.

O'Connor K, Molin F, Poirier P, Vaillancourt R.

Department of Cardiology, Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie, Hôpital Laval, Québec, Canada. kim.oconnor.1@ulaval.ca

Severe palmar and/or axillary hyperhidrosis can be socially and psychologically very disturbing. We present a case of a patient who suffered from a 43 s asystolic cardiac arrest the night following a second contralateral thoracoscopic T(2)-T(3) sympathectomy for severe axillary and truncal hyperhidrosis. The cardiovascular effects of cervico-dorsal sympathectomy will be reviewed. Evaluation required to prevent such a serious cardiac complication will also be discussed.

PMID: 19038983 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE