Cardiac surgery in patients with previous pneumonectomy

Severe pulmonary dysfunction is a commonly occurring postoperative complication following cardiac surgery. Resection of a lung causes major anatomical and physiological changes. Shift of the mediastinum and reduction in respiratory function following pneumonectomy makes cardiac surgery challenging not only for the surgeon but also for the anaesthetist. With improvement in life expectancy and better results following cardiac and pulmonary operations increasing number of patients are likely to be subjected to both of these operations during their lifetime. There is paucity of data in the literature on the subject of cardiac surgery subsequent to previous pneumonectomy. We report our experience on performing cardiac surgery following pneumonectomy to highlight certain important features that we think are important while managing these patients.