ANESTHETIC MANAGEMENT OF LASER-SURGERY FOR CENTRAL AIRWAY-OBSTRUCTION- A 12-YEAR CASE SERIES

The retrospective 12-year experience of anesthetizing patients with ce ntral airway obstructions for laser treatment with a CO2 and two types of Nd:YAG laser has been reviewed and evaluated. More than 300 patien ts have been treated, many on several occasions. The beneficial effect s of treatment to the majority of patients have been significant. Ther e has been a small associated mortality because the majority are in th e high-risk categories of fitness for anesthesia, but no clinical evid ence that it is directly attributable to the techniques of anesthesia or ventilation. Therefore, although laser technology has evolved into systems suitable to be applied with fiberoptic bronchoscopes and local and sedation anesthesia, the use of a rigid bronchoscope and the evol ved techniques of anesthesia and ventilation remain appropriate to the clinical needs and offer advantages. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saund ers Company.