[Perioperative management for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy undergoing noncardiac surgery]

We had two patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for noncardiac surgeries. Case 1: A 74-year-old man for right nephrectomy received epidural lidocaine and nitrous oxide combined with 0.2-0.6% isoflurane. During the operation, heart rate and blood pressure were relatively unstable, but he woke up promptly after the operation. Early on the morning of the 2nd post-operative day, he was found dead on his bed. Case 2: A 52-year-old man for gastrectomy was anesthetized with nitrous oxide and halothane with continuous propranolol infusion. Through the operative period, heart rate and blood pressure were stable and postoperative course was uneventful. In these two patients, preoperative Holter ECG showed ventricular tachycardia, which may increase the risk of a sudden death. These cases demonstrate that general anesthesia with nitrous oxide combined with halothane, can be administered with a low risk in patients with HCM for noncardiac surgery and that postoperative intensive care unit monitoring is necessary for these patients for several days to prevent a sudden death.