Successful treatment of intraoperative pulmonary tumor embolism from renal cell carcinoma

During left nephrectomy in a 35-year-old woman with a left renal cell carcinoma extending into the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atrium, cardiac arrest occurred. Immediate transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated that the event was caused by a pulmonary tumor embolism. Emergent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was established and the tumors in the pulmonary arteries were successfully removed. The left nephrectomy was completed. The patient recovered in the intensive care unit without any neurological deficit. A postoperative pulmonary perfusion scintigram showed no defect in the pulmonary circulation. Transesophageal echocardiography was useful for making a rapid diagnosis of an intraoperative pulmonary embolism originating from a tumor of the IVC or right atrium.