Survey of ophthalmology
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Malignant hyperthermia, a relatively recently described entity, is a little-understood disease process usually manifesting as operative or postoperative hyperpyrexia in association with a hypermetabolic state. Specific therapy with procaine (Novocaine) and more recently with a muscle relaxant, dantrolene sodium (Dantrium), has shown itself to be life-saving, and currently diagnosis can be made by muscle biopsy in patients from affected pedigrees. Malignant hyperthermia is a risk in all general anesthetic procedures, particularly squint and ptosis repair, and may even be a consideration with local anesthesia.