The survival rate after lung transplantation has increased in recent years, leading to an increase in non-pulmonary conditions that require surgical intervention. These post-transplant surgical procedures, however, are associated with high mortality and morbidity rates. Intra-abdominal conditions are the most common reasons for surgical intervention. We describe here two patients who underwent abdominal surgery under general anesthesia following lung transplantation. One patient underwent cholecystectomy due to cholecystitis after heart-lung transplantation, and the other patient had an exploratory laparotomy for duodenal ulcer perforation after double lung transplantation. Depending on the type of transplant intervention, the physiology of the transplanted lung must be considered for general anesthesia. Knowledge of underlying conditions and immunosuppressive therapy following transplantation are important for safe and effective general anesthesia.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss has been reported to occur following anesthesia and various non-otologic surgeries, mostly after procedures involving cardiopulmonary bypass. Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss resulting from microembolism is an infrequent complication of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery that has long been acknowledged. Moreover, there are few reports on the occurrence of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss without other neurologic deficits and its etiology has also not been determined. We describe here a rare case of bilateral hearing loss without other neurologic deficits in an otherwise healthy 27-year-old woman who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass surgery for repair of severe mitral valve stenosis. The patient suffered from profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears that was recognized immediately upon extubation, and audiometry tests confirmed the diagnosis. Without any treatment, her hearing recovered almost completely by the time of her discharge one week after surgery.
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