Introduction
Severe bronchospasm during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is an unusual
event (1-12), with less than 20 cases have been published. However, the
outcomes from such an event could have disastrous consequences. This
condition presents with high airway pressure, low expiratory tidal
volume, and a lack of lung deflation (1, 2), resulting in gaseous
exchange and hemodynamics.
In addition, type A aortic dissection (TAAD) is a serious and fatal
disease, which usually requires emergency aortic surgery undergoing CPB
to prevent death from aortic rupture (13). Up until now, no report has
described severe bronchospasm, which was observed during surgery for
TAAD. We report on a case of severe bronchospasm immediately following
CPB during aortic surgery for TAAD. Bronchospasm did not respond to any
conventional therapy, necessitating veno-venous extracorporeal membrane
oxygenation (VV-ECMO).