Management of a patient with lupus anticoagulant and antiphospholipid syndrome for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting using the Hepcon system.

ABSTRACT

Patients with serum lupus anticoagulant antibodies (LAC) with or without antiphospholipid syndrome who present for cardiac surgery provide a unique set of challenges. Chief among these are the interference with anticoagulation monitoring by LAC. We present a case of such a patient who presented to us for coronary artery bypass grafting. We follow with a review of LAC and antiphospholipid syndrome and present a strategy for ensuring adequate anticoagulation during cardiac surgery in the background of previously published reports.