A unique case of venous air embolus with survival

Dafney L Davare; Zishan Chaudry; Rafael Sanchez; Seong K Lee; Chauniqua Kiffin; Andrew A Rosenthal; Eddy H Carrillo

doi:10.1093/jscr/rjw153

A unique case of venous air embolus with survival

J Surg Case Rep. 2016 Sep 1;2016(9):rjw153. doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjw153.

Authors

Dafney L Davare¹, Zishan Chaudry², Rafael Sanchez³, Seong K Lee³, Chauniqua Kiffin³, Andrew A Rosenthal³, Eddy H Carrillo³

Affiliations

¹ Memorial Regional Hospital, Division of Acute Care Surgery and Trauma, 3501 Johnson Street, Hollywood, FL 33021, USA DDavare@mhs.net.
² Saba University School of Medicine, 27 Jackson Road, Devens, MA 01434, USA.
³ Memorial Regional Hospital, Division of Acute Care Surgery and Trauma, 3501 Johnson Street, Hollywood, FL 33021, USA.

Abstract

Venous air embolus (VAE) occurs when gas, specifically atmospheric air, enters into the vascular system. Although rare, they can be fatal due to risk of cardiovascular collapse. In this report, we present a unique case of a 66-year-old female trauma patient with an inferior vena cava air embolism. An overview of the potential cause is presented, along with a review of the management of VAE.

Publication types

Case Reports