A&A practice
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Hiccups are common reflexes and many treatment methods have been reported. Chlorpromazine is a known treatment option for hiccups, but its efficacy under general anesthesia remains unclear. We report the case of a patient with vagal schwannoma who developed hiccups while under general anesthesia. ⋯ The depth of anesthesia was deepened; however, the hiccups did not disappear. The hiccups were relieved by intravenous chlorpromazine administration (total; 5 mg), which allowed for surgery under neuromonitoring. This case indicates that chlorpromazine may be effective to treat hiccups under general anesthesia.
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Malan syndrome, also known as Sotos-like syndrome or Sotos syndrome 2, is an overgrowth disorder that results from point mutations of the nuclear factor I/X (NFIX) gene. The phenotype consists of macrocephaly, facial dysmorphisms, hypotonia, and developmental delay. While case reports in the anesthesiology literature regarding the care of patients with Sotos syndrome do not identify significant anesthetic problems, more knowledge concerning the care of patients with Malan syndrome is necessary. Anesthesia providers must be aware of this clinical phenotype and prepare for possible difficult intravenous access and difficult airway management.
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Arterial tortuosity syndrome is a rare hereditary autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder characterized by elongation and tortuosity of the large- and medium-sized arteries. We present the case of a 13-year old child with arterial tortuosity syndrome who underwent occipital encephaloduroarteriomyosynangiosis for posterior circulation insufficiency. The constellation of clinical features in our patient portended significant anesthetic concerns, including difficult airway due to craniofacial abnormalities, risk of stroke, and myocardial infarction due to intracerebral and coronary arterial tortuosity and stenosis. The pertinent anesthetic implications are summarized, and we describe the anesthetic technique and use of multimodal neuromonitoring relevant for the case.
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Sensory innervation of the breast is complex, thereby making it difficult to perform any surgical procedure with a single regional anesthesia technique. Because of the involvement of pectoral muscles and extension of the incision into the axilla, a modified radical mastectomy makes it further challenging and requires multiple techniques. We have used a new combination of regional techniques in this case series and found that it provided complete surgical anesthesia with a smaller volume of local anesthetic.
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Acute transient vertigo, ataxia, and hypertension after trigeminal nerve block via a coronoid approach with alcohol have been reported previously. We report a similar complication after the same block with nerve stimulator guidance with bupivacaine without alcohol. Stimulation of the vestibular canal by the needle, or disturbance to its blood supply, presence of an abnormal anatomical connection of the mandibular nerve and vestibular system or spasm of cerebellar arteries from the stimulating needle are possible causations rather than the drug used, whether it is alcohol or bupivacaine. Awareness of such rare but serious complications is important, and radiological-guided interventional treatment may minimize such complications.