Outcome of anesthesia and open heart surgery in pregnant patients

Cardiovascular disease is an important non-obstetric cause of maternal and fetal /neonatal morbidity and
mortality during pregnancy. For a pregnant woman with cardiac disease, the potential inability of the maternal cardiovascular
system to contend with normal pregnancy-induced physiologic changes may produce deleterious effects on both mother
and fetus. To determine the most frequent surgical indications of maternal and fetal mortality, we studied 15 cases of severe
cardiac disease in pregnant women who required cardiac surgical procedures.
Methods: In this descriptive study, fifteen pregnant women who underwent cardiac surgery were studied. Maternal age
ranged from 27 to 36 years, and gestational age varied from 4 to 22 weeks. Most of the patients were in New York Heart Association
Classes II and III. Opioid- based anesthesia with fentanyl citrate (50μ/kg) or sufentanil (5μ/kg) plus low dose of
thiopental were used for the induction of anesthesia. During non-pulsatile cardio-pulmonary bypass, core temperature was
between 28-36 °C, average CBP time was 61.2±22 min, average aortic cross-clamp time was 34.13±14 min, and mean pump
pressure was maintained between 65-80 mmHg.
Results: Ten patients had severe mitral valve disease (66.6%), three had aortic valve disease (20%), one had subvalvular
aortic stenosis (6.7%), and the remaining one had left atrial myxoma (6.7%). There were five fetal deaths (33.3%) and one
maternal death (6.7%).
Conclusion: It seems that open heart surgery in the first trimester is very hazardous for the fetus and may lead to fetal
death. If possible, surgery should be carried out in the second trimester of pregnancy. The recommendations are simply
guidelines because research data and clinical experience in this area are limited