Anesthesia for Surgery in the Sitting Position : A Retrospective Analysis

Anesthesia for surgery in the sitting position in Yamaguchi University Hospital was investigated based on a retrospective analysis of anesthesia records during the period between 1971 and 1990. Eighty-eight patients were included for this analysis. Twelve patients underwent neurosurgical procedures, mainly for resection of brain tumor. Seventy six patients underwent orthopedic surgery, mostly for cervical spine surgery. As the intraoperative complications, hypotension occurred in 34 patients(39%). Air embolism, one of the gravest hazards in the sitting position, occurred in 8 patients(9%), and pneumocephalus occurred in 2 patients. One patient who exhibited air embolism during surgery continued to be unconscious postoperatively and eventually died. Recently, the frequency of the use of sitting position has been decreased mainly because of the danger of air embolism. In our hospital, no case has been done in sitting position since 1984. Most cases have now been done in other positions such as prone, park bench or corcorde position. Should sitting position be planned, sufficient discussion must be done between surgeons and anesthesiologists.

坐位手術

麻酔管理

空気塞栓