Intraoperative Monitoring of Pulmonary Artery Physiology With Transesophageal Echocardiography in a Patient With an Extensive Pulmonary Aneurysm Undergoing Partial Nephrectomy.

Surgical patients with pulmonary hypertension present a significant challenge to the anesthesiologist. Continuous perioperative monitoring of pulmonary artery (PA) pressure is recommended and most often accomplished with a PA catheter. Placement of a PA catheter may be difficult or contraindicated, and in these cases, transesophageal echocardiography is a useful alternative to monitor dynamic PA physiology. In this case, we used intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography to detect changes in peak PA pressure and guide clinical treatment in a patient with pulmonary hypertension and an extensive PA aneurysm undergoing partial nephrectomy.