Acute ischemic hepatic failure resulting from intraaortic balloon pump malposition

We describe a rare intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) vascular complication as a result of malpositioning of the IABP. A 61-year-old man with unstable an gina underwent emergency coronary artery bypass grafting soon after the ins ertion of an IABP. postoperative hemodynamics were stable, but acute hepati c dysfunction occurred on the second postoperative day. Doppler echography revealed the absence of hepatic arterial Row. The IABP was removed, and art erial flow was immediately restored. Thereafter, the hepatic function recov ered rapidly. This is a rare case that demonstrates how IABP can cause mech anical abdominal arterial branch obstruction. Evaluations using Doppler ech ography are useful in detecting such IABP complications. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.