Massive intracavitary clot formation during cardiopulmonary bypass

The present case report describes the spontaneous formation of blood clots in the right and left sides of the circulation, despite good anticoagulation, in a patient undergoing coronary bypass surgery. The authors hypothesize that, because the patient turned out to have positive serology for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia that was not diagnosed preoperatively, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia thrombosis may account for all findings. The clinical scenario is described in detail and potential explanations and relevance are discussed.