A 50-year-old woman underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) for multivessel coronary artery disease. Due to hemodynamic instability, the patient could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass without mechanical support, even after multiple attempts. Subsequently, a right ventricular intramyocardial hematoma (IH) was found during postoperative coronary angiography. The IH was felt to be the main contributing factor leading to right ventricular failure and cardiogenic shock, which, to the authors' knowledge, has not been previously reported after CABG. An IH is a rare complication postoperatively that often requires a high level of suspicion to identify on transesophageal echocardiogram. It should be suspected when there is hemodynamic instability intraoperatively or postoperatively in the intensive care unit that cannot be explained easily. There currently is no standard treatment. Treatment often is based on the individual patient and degree of hemodynamic instability.
Keywords: Intraventricular hematoma; cardiopulmonary bypass weaning; chronic total occlusion; complications of CABG; coronary angiography; myocardial staining; postoperative hemodynamic instability; transesophageal findings.
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