Perioperative mortality secondary to a pulmonary embolism during a surgical implantation of the Endo‐Exo‐Prosthesis: a case report

Abstract

We report on a 53‐year‐old female patient who suffered a perioperative death secondary to a pulmonary embolism (PE) during an implantation of Endo‐Exo‐Prosthesis. This is a retrospective review of medical case for a patient who had a previous above‐the‐knee amputation secondary to a failed previous arthroplasty surgery. Our planned surgery was a stage 1 implantation of an Endo‐Exo‐Prosthesis, and it was performed under general anaesthesia. After 25 min from starting the surgical procedure, the patient sustained a cardiac arrest, and despite an active cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 50 min, the patient did not recover, the ventilator machine was stopped later on, and the patient was declared deceased at that stage. Fatal intraoperative PE is a rare but significant complication during orthopaedic procedures. There are few reports of similar events but include mainly trauma patients with fractured neck of femur. Endo‐Exo‐Prosthesis is a relatively newly evolved procedure in a unique group of patients. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of such complication during Endo‐Exo‐Prosthesis implantation. Patient and surgeon should be aware of it, and additional preventive measures like preoperative scoring systems and in special cases using inferior vena cava filter should be considered in patients with high risk of developing venous thromboembolism.