Acute aortic occlusion due to tumor embolism in a patient with lung malignancy

Objectives:Acute lower limb ischemia caused by tumor embolization is rare, despite the fact that cancer is a common cause of hypercoagulability predisposing to venous thrombosis. Arterial embolization is mostly associated with intracardiac tumors while lung malignancies are the second most common cause of tumor embolism.Methods:In this report, we present a male patient who developed acute bilateral lower limb ischemia in the immediate postoperative period after a thoracotomy for attempted left upper lobe resection for lung cancer.Results:The patient was treated with a subclavian-bifemoral bypass, since an initial attempted embolectomy was unsuccessful. Histopathological characteristics of thrombus obtained during embolectomy were consistent with the histopathology of the primary tumor.Conclusion:Acute ischemia is an emergency that should be diagnosed and treated immediately. Interestingly, in this case, the presence of epidural anesthesia masked the initial symptoms and delayed diagnosis. Preoperative ass...