Abstract

Malignant cerebral infarction as postoperative complication after pulmonary resection occurs rarely, but can be rather serious. We report a case of 81-year-old man who suffered from malignant cerebral infarctions after pulmonary resection for lung cancer. He had a history of well-controlled hypertensions, but no evidences of arrhythmia, and neither stenosis nor atheroma in the carotid arteries and intracranial arteries. There were no specific events during his operation except that an inadvertent left carotid artery puncture occurred during the central line insertion. In intensive care unit (ICU), he had a delayed recovery of consciousness and dysarthria with right hemiplegia. Computed tomography revealed malignant middle cerebral infarctions due to the occlusion of left middle cerebral artery. It could be the thromboembolism due to pulmonary resections or carotid artery punctures in the patient without high risk factors.

• Keywords: lobectomy;malignant cerebral infarction;postoperative stroke;