Sudden respiratory arrest resulting from brainstem embolism in a patient undergoing endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Surgery on the aorta is a great challenge for the anesthesiologist, even with newly developed and less invasive stent-graft procedures. The case of a fatal cerebral embolism during endovascular repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm is reported, and the potential mechanisms underlying this unexpected complication are discussed.