Non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery for decortication of empyema under thoracic epidural anesthesia: a case report
General anesthesia is the main strategy for almost all thoracic surgeries. However, a growing body of literature has reported successful cases of non-intubated thoracic surgery with regional anesthesia. This alternative strategy not only prevents complications related to general anesthesia, such as...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Korean Society of Anesthesiologists
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Korean Journal of Anesthesiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ekja.org/upload/pdf/kjae-70-341.pdf |
| Summary: | General anesthesia is the main strategy for almost all thoracic surgeries. However, a growing body of literature has reported successful cases of non-intubated thoracic surgery with regional anesthesia. This alternative strategy not only prevents complications related to general anesthesia, such as lung injury, incomplete re-expansion and intubation related problems, but also accords with trends of shorter hospital stay and lower overall costs. We experienced a successful case of non-intubated thoracoscopic decortication for a 68-year-old man who was diagnosed as empyema while the patient kept spontaneously breathing with moderate sedation under thoracic epidural anesthesia. The patient showed a fast recovery without concerns of general anesthesia related complications and effective postoperative analgesia through thoracic epidural patient-controlled analgesia device. This is the first report of non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery under thoracic epidural anesthesia in Korea, and we expect that various well designed prospective studies will warrant the improvement of outcomes in non-intubated thoracoscopic surgery. |
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| ISSN: | 2005-6419 2005-7563 |