Perioperative management of lung cancer patients with cardiovascular complications

Lung cancer patients with cardiovascular complications often require antithrombotic therapy. In this study, we discuss the present conditions and future problems associated with the perioperative management of such patients. We examined 36 lung cancer patients undergoing surgery who received antithrombotic therapy for cardiovascular complications. Twenty-one patients were administered unfractionated heparin in the perioperative period (heparin group). Fifteen patients were not administered unfractionated heparin in the perioperative period (no-heparin group). No significant intergroup differences were observed in operating time, intraoperative blood loss, duration of chest tube placement, and the number of hospitalization days. However, 2 serious cases of thromboembolism developed after surgery. One was a case of pulmonary thromboembolism and the other was one of superior mesenteric artery thromboembolism. These results suggest that the appropriate perioperative usage of heparin enables the standard surgical treatment of lung cancer patients with cardiovascular complications. We recommend the use of low-molecular-weight heparin or low-dose unfractionated heparin as the antithrombotic agent after lung cancer surgery.