[Thoracoabdominal aneurysm complicated with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy--a case of surgical treatment following heparin pretreatment].

This article reports a case of a thoracoabdominal aneurysm complicated with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). The thoracoabdominal aneurysm was successfully replaced with a prosthetic graft following the short terms of heparin pretreatment. Although heparin pretreatment had been effective for the temporal remission of DIC, a large amount of blood transfusion was necessary because of prolonged bleeding from surgical wound. However, hematological evidence of DIC and bleeding tendency were dramatically arrested in the immediate postoperative period. It was concluded that the definitive treatment for DIC was removal of the aneurysm. Heparin was usefull for the preservation of coagulation factors and platelet, but it did not lessen operative bleeding.