MULTIPLE SURGICAL PROBLEMS IN 2 PATIENTS WITH EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 87  (3) , 319-324
Abstract
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a genetically determined disorder of connective tissue, the internal manifestations of which carry significant morbidity and mortality rates. During the past 14 yr, multiple life-threatening surgical complications of this disease in 2 patients were treated. The difficulties encountered at operation require modification of anesthetic and surgical techniques to accommodate the sometimes surrealistic situations that develop with alarming suddenness in patients with the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. These techniques include handling the extremely friable tissues, dissecting and ligating vessels that disintegrate under the pressure of a hemostat, stemming spontaneous arterial hemorrhage and special care in harvesting and placing split-thickness skin grafts.