1/2. Segmental spinal anaesthesia for cholecystectomy in a patient with severe lung disease.Occasionally patients awaiting heart or lung transplant because of terminal disease require other types of surgery, but present significant challenges to the anaesthetist because of impaired organ function. Regional anaesthesia may have much to offer such patients and we here report one who underwent successfully a laparoscopic cholecystectomy under segmental subarachnoid (spinal) anaesthesia performed at the low thoracic level. The anatomical and physiological consequences of such a technique are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/2. Use of continuous positive airway pressure during spinal anaesthesia in a patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.We report the case of a patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who underwent local resection of a carcinoma of the rectum under spinal anaesthesia. Although the patient was keen to avoid general anaesthesia and to have the operation under a spinal anaesthetic, pre-operative assessment showed that he could not lie flat. As the surgical procedure required the patient to be in the lithotomy position, ideally with a head-down tilt, it was hoped that continuous positive airway pressure with a facemask during spinal anaesthesia might help him to tolerate the position comfortably. continuous positive airway pressure at 7.5 cmH(2)O was successfully used to facilitate breathing during surgery under spinal anaesthesia. A combination of regional anaesthesia and continuous positive airway pressure via a facemask is easy to use and may be a useful option in the management of these challenging patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.5keywords = anaesthesia (Clic here for more details about this article) |