Intraoperative Pulmonary Embolism in an Adolescent Patient with Type III Spinal Muscular Atrophy: A Case Report

We present the case of an 11-year-old girl with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type III who suffered an intraoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE), leading to death during bilateral extremity contracture releases for deformity correction.

Given the increasing incidence of VTE in pediatric patients, further consideration should be given to broadening the patient population offerring preoperative deep vein thrombosis screening or thromboprophylaxis. Specifically, patients with previous trauma, neuromuscular disorders, and prolonged immobilization or contractures should receive special attention. In addition, SMA may cause hypercoagulability independent of its status as a neuromuscular disorder, and this link should be investigated further.