146-##_Other-1023-1-11-20211222.jpg


Volume 9- No. 3 2021

Educated Hand Publishing LLC 
“The Science Behind the Art” 
Volume 9 - No.3 2021 

 Anesthesia eJournal - Online
ISSN 2333-2611

Page 5

Anesthetic Management of Venous Gas Embolism with Hepatectomy
 Yoshiya Kunisawa, BSN, RN

Affiliation:
 Texas Christian University

Grant/Financial Support: 
None

Biographical data:  
Yoshiya Kunisawa is graduate student pursing a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Anesthesia from Texas Christian University School of 
Nurse Anesthesia.  

KEYWORDS:   venous gas embolism, venous air embolism, GE, VAE, hepatectomy

Abstract
This is a case review of the intraoperative management of a 46-year-old male patient with a history of stage IV sig-
moid colon adenocarcinoma with metastasis to the liver that presented for a robotic assisted sigmoidectomy and partial 
hepatectomy and had an intraoperative venous gas embolism that resulted in acute hemodynamic instability.  Venous gas 
embolism can be a life-threatening intraoperative event that requires fast recognition of the symptoms and appropriate 
interventions in response to the patient changes.  Evidence suggests that venous gas embolisms are very common with 
certain procedures but often subclinical.  Preventative measures, early recognition, and prompt treatment of venous gas 
embolisms are important interventions to minimize the risk for any significant hemodynamic instability and any result-
ing neurological or cardiovascular sequelae. 

AEJ