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The Susceptibility of the Central Nervous System to Open Heart Surgery

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Impact of Cardiac Surgery on the Quality of Life

Abstract

The occurrence of transient or persistent neurological deficits in the perioperative course of open-heart surgery is one of the potentially most serious complications limiting a favorable outcome for cardiac patients. While permanent brain damage is only rarely encountered in this setting, several studies indicate that intermittent neurological abnormalities in the postoperative period are a much more common feature unique to cardio-surgical procedures [1, 2, 3]. Such syndromes of impaired cerebral function until now could not be correlated with a particular type of cardiac surgery, the obvious presence of metabolic disturbances, or the type of anesthesia used [4]. The absence of such an ostensible relationship is further evidenced by the fact that we do not observe similar neurological abnormalities after other surgical procedures [5].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurological Department, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Fed. Rep. Germany

    Thomas Emskoetter & Lutz Lachenmayer

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  1. Thomas Emskoetter
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  2. Lutz Lachenmayer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, New York, USA

    Allen E. Willner

  2. University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Georg Rodewald

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© 1990 Plenum Press, New York

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Emskoetter, T., Lachenmayer, L. (1990). The Susceptibility of the Central Nervous System to Open Heart Surgery. In: Willner, A.E., Rodewald, G. (eds) Impact of Cardiac Surgery on the Quality of Life. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0647-4_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0647-4_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7908-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0647-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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