Intracerebral hemorrhage related to systemic gas embolism during hysteroscopy

Iatrogenic gas embolism is a rare but serious problem that has been documented in almost all medical specialties including gynecology. We present a 49-year-old woman undergoing operative hysteroscopy and myomectomy, who sustained sudden hypotension and decrease in the end-tidal carbon dioxid levels during the procedure. Systemic gas embolism was confirmed by echocardiographic evidence of bubbles in both right and left cardiac cavities and a rise of troponin. Hyperbaric oxygen was rapidly administered in addition to maintenance of vital functions and anti-thrombotic prevention with calciparin. A right hemiparesis was apparent after recovery from general anesthesia. Brain-computed tomography and magnetic resonnance imaging, performed on Days 3 and 2 respectively, showed a left fronto-parietal hematoma surrounded by edema. Having ruled out risk factors for a primary ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, we concluded that hemorragic transformation of the ischemic cerebral lesion caused by gas embolism was responsible for the observed intraparenchymal hematoma. As far as we know, this is the first report relating cerebral gas embolism with an intracerebral hemorrhage. It provides an argument against anticoagulant therapy during the early stages of gas embolism care.