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Case reports

Diffuse coronary artery spasm treated by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia

Received 7 December 2008; received in revised form 5 February 2009; accepted 10 March 2009.

^_* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 9342 7863; fax: +61 3 9342 7700. (Email: chez.smith{at}mh.org.au).

Diffuse coronary vasospasm is an unpredictable and serious complication following coronary artery bypass surgery. The treatment of this emergency is dependent on patient suitability for angiography and direct injection of vasodilators into the affected vessels. In patients unable to proceed to angiography the diagnosis can only be suspected but treatment is nevertheless still towards reinstitution of coronary blood flow. We present one such case in which re-grafting and extracorporeal membranous oxygenation proved successful in restoring cardiac function in a patient with diffuse coronary artery spasm.

Key Words: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation • Coronary artery spasm • Bypass