Intraoperative cardiac tamponade complicating esophagogastrectomy.

Thoracoabdominal esophagogastrectomy is associated with a number of potential life-threatening complications.We describe a patient with intraoperative hypotension in which a number of therapeutic maneuvers eventually led to the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade.Once the diagnosis of tamponade was made, it was successfully treated by the release of intrapericardial blood.Although rare, tamponade should be considered as a cause of hemodynamic instability whenever intraoperative manipulation of the heart has occurred.