[A case of pulmonary embolism after abdominal surgery]

A 67-yr-old man who suffered from pulmonary embolism following abdominal surgery was reported. The patient received left hemicolectomy and cholecystectomy for cancer of descending colon and cholecystolithiasis, respectively. Anesthesia was maintained with enflurane 0.6-1.0% and pancuronium combined with epidural analgesia. The anesthetic course was uneventful. But after leaving operating room the patient showed severe hypoxemia without abnormal shadow on chest X-P and other abnormal laboratory values. The cause of hypoxemia was unclear, but on the fourth postoperative day pulmonary scintigrams revealed pulmonary embolism. Then 12000 units.day-1 of heparin infusion was started. After 10 days of anticoagulant therapy, the hypoxemia improved and he was discharged on 28th postoperative day. Although pulmonary embolism is a rare disorder, we have to take it into consideration as one of the causes of postoperative hypoxemia.