Anaesthesia for Caesarean Delivery in a Pregnant with Acute Type B Aortic Dissection

About 50% of aortic dissections in women younger than 40 years occur during pregnancy; mostly in the 3rd trimesters and postpartum period. Aortic dissection in pregnancy creates a serious mortality risk for both mother and the foetus. The ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of both the mother and the foetus. In such cases, the best method of anaesthesia for caesarean delivery is still controversial. The first aim of anaesthetic management is to reduce the effect of cardiovascular instability on the dissected aorta. Here, we report the anaesthetic management of a 36 year-old pregnant woman who developed acute type B aortic dissection in the 30(th) gestational weeks and scheduled for caesarean section. Since hemodynamic stability could not be achieved despite nitro-glycerine and esmolol infusions, together with invasive arterial monitoring, the decision for caesarean delivery was taken. A team of Cardiovascular Surgeons and an operating room were prepared because of the risks of aortic rupture and hemodynamic collapse during operation. Combined-spinal epidural anaesthesia was administered using 5 mg hyperbaric bupivacaine and 20 μg fentanyl given at the L3-4 spinal level in the side lying position. After achieving T4 sensory block level, the operation proceeded and a baby weighing 1432 grams was delivered in 4 min with a median subumbilical incision. Epidural patient controlled analgesia was applied to the patient during follow-up with medical treatment at postoperative period. In pregnant women with acute Type B aortic dissection, if adequate sensory block level cannot be achieved despite using a combination of low dose local anaesthetic (spinal use) and opioids, we are in the opinion that combined spinal-epidural anaesthesia, which allows the use of additional doses can be a decent choice.