Anesthesia for cesarean section in a patient with isolated unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Congenital unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery (UAPA) is a rare anomaly. Although there are several reports regarding pregnancy in patients with unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery, there are no case reports describing anesthesia for Cesarean section in a patient with unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery. CASE REPORT We present a patient with unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery who underwent Cesarean sections twice at the ages of 24 and 26 years under spinal anesthesia for surgery and epidural analgesia for postoperative pain relief. Both times, spinal anesthesia and epidural analgesia enabled successful anesthesia management without the development of either pulmonary hypertension or right heart failure. CONCLUSION Spinal anesthesia combined with epidural analgesia is a useful anesthetic method for a Cesarean section in patients with unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery.