Anesthesia for Partial Bilateral Salpingectomy in a Patient with Idiopathic Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Case Report and Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a rare, autosomal dominant cardiac disorder characterized by hypertrophy of the interventricular septum and mitral valve abnormalities. CASE REPORT: A 25-year old female, second gestation, with a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for four years and history of mild intermittent asthma controlled with sporadical use of corticosteroids. On physical exam, the patient had a IV/VI systolic and plurifocal heart murmur and accentuated scoliosis with palpable intervertebral spaces. She complained of occasional palpitations during pregnancy, and was treated with 100 mg of atenolol a day. Complete blood count, creatinine, and electrolytes were within normal limits; echocardiogram showed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy predominantly septal and ejection fraction of 0.76%. The patient underwent emergency labor giving birth to a live female fetus, Apgar 9/9, without maternal and fetal hemodynamic complications. The patient was scheduled for bilateral partial salpingectomy. During the interview, the patient refused general anesthesia for the procedure. A decision was made for combined regional blockade. The surgical procedure lasted 20 minutes during which changes in blood pressure and heart rate were up to 10% lower than baseline levels without immediate hemodynamic or surgical complications. CONCLUSIONS: Absolute maternal mortality in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) is very low and it is usually seen in patients with high risk factors. Evidence does not show an increased risk of regional blocks in females with HC when it is used for vaginal delivery. Both general anesthesia and regional blocks were successfully used without complication for cesarean sections in patients with HC.