Combined spinal epidural anesthesia for cesarean section in a patient with left lung agenesis

Agenesis of the lung is a rare developmental defect characterized by complete absence of one lung, or hypoplasia of one or both lungs. The majority of reported cases have been associated with other congenital anomalies. It is usually detected in childhood as a result of either pulmonary symptoms or associated anomalies. Although pulmonary agenesis has been reported in adults, there is no report of the management of a pregnant patient for cesarean section in the anesthetic literature. We report the management of a 23-year-old pregnant female at 36 weeks' gestation with oligohydramnios and left lung agenesis for elective cesarean section. She presented with a history of repeated chest infection and was found to have restrictive lung function. She had no other congenital anomalies. Combined spinal epidural anesthesia was administered for cesarean section. The intraoperative course was uneventful except for bradyarrhythmias followed by tachyarrhythmias on manipulation of the uterus. She was given low dose epidural morphine with local anesthetic and intramuscular diclofenac for postoperative analgesia. We believe that normal pregnancy can safely be undertaken in the presence of left lung agenesis. In view of associated congenital anomalies in more than 50% of the cases, anesthetic management should include a particularly careful survey of other systems. The patient should otherwise be managed like any patient with limited pulmonary reserve. Combined spinal epidural anesthesia is safe and appropriate for such patients.