Volatile induction and maintenance (VIMA) versus total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) for minor gynaecological procedures

We compared the techniques of volatile induction and maintenance (VIMA) and total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) in various aspects. Patients undergoing spontaneous respiration-general anaesthesia were randomised into two groups; Group P received iv fentanyl 1 mg/kg and propofol 2 mg/kg for induction followed by propofol 10 mg/min as required. Group S received vital capacity induction with sevoflurane and were maintained on 66% N2O in O2 with sevoflurane 2%. Induction times, complications and recovery times were recorded. Visual analogue scores for pain and satisfaction were assessed. The two groups did not differ significantly in emergence times or VAS scores for pain and satisfaction but more complications like apnoea and injection pain were encountered during TIVA compared to VIMA. Our results suggest that both techniques are comparable in efficacy for providing anaesthesia in minor gynaecological surgery with swift induction, good recovery and minimal postoperative complications. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.