Intraoperative Reverse Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in Liver Transplantation: An Anesthesiologist's Nightmare

Reverse Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a rare variant of stress cardiomyopathy, characterized by basal akinesia with apical sparing. To our knowledge, this case is the first reported in the literature of intraoperative reverse TTC (rTTC) in liver transplantation.

After a thorough workup, a 19-year-old man, diagnosed with extrahepatic biliary atresia, was taken up for living-related donor liver transplantation. The patient developed intraoperative rTTC. This case report describes the challenges and successful management of this cardiomyopathy intraoperatively and postoperatively.

Intraoperative rTTC is challenging and requires aggressive and immediate hemodynamic and pharmacological management, along with supportive treatment and management of complications. This case report describes the challenges and successful management of this cardiomyopathy intraoperatively and postoperatively. To our knowledge, this case is the first reported in the literature of intraoperative rTTC in liver transplantation.