Abstract
We experienced three cases of stunned myocardium after abdominal surgery. All three cases were females in their 60s who underwent resection of rectum, resection of ileocecum, and right hemicolectomy with partial hepatectomy, respectively. They were diagnosed as stunned myocardium mainly from hemodynamic changes, ECG, and echocardiography. Intraoperative hemodynamic instability and shivering at the time of emergence from anesthesia might have led to the stunned myocardium, we thought. We thought that coronary spasm was responsible in one patient, but in the other two cases the causes were unclear. Though stunned myocardium is basically reversible, it may become irreversible if management is inappropriate. The relation between stunned myocardium and perioperative myocardial infarction needs to be further elucidated.
