Continuous Right Radial Arterial Pressure Monitoring as a Guide to Dissection of a Thoracic Inlet Neurofibroma

Abstract

Excision of tumors in the thoracic inlet entail a risk of injury to subclavian vessels due to their close proximity. A right radial artery line can sensitively and continuously monitor the occurrence of right subclavian artery compression and warn the surgeon of its proximity and prevent injury. We describe a case of thoracic inlet tumor in a 12-year-old child, wherein the use of radial artery pressure monitoring guided the surgeon to separate the subclavian artery from the tumor to which it was adherent.