Anesthesia in a patient with hypercalcemia

Abstract

We conducted exchange blood transfusion in a 48-year-old man with lung cancer complicated by sever hypercalcemia at the time of anesthesia for unilateral total pulmonectomy.
Immediately after induction of anesthesia, the patient received 1, 000ml of exchange blood transfusion together with physiological saline solution; the pre-operative serum calcium concentration of 16.0mg/dl was rapidly lowered to a level of 11.5mg/dl. No problems occurred during the operation except for hypocalcemia produced by hemodilution.
The present case suggests that exchange blood transfusion may purify blood more quickly and safely than blood dialysis. Moreover, the method has another advantage that it may be applicable even during operations, since it does not need complicated techniques or facilities. In short, it may be a method having a wide scope of applicability.