Most studies investigating the cardiovascular changes associated with laparoscopic surgery report an increase in systemic vascular resistance (SVR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and myocardial filling pressures, accompanied by a fall in cardiac index (CI) with little change in heart rate (1). The changes are typically pronounced after the beginning of the carbon dioxide (CO2) insufflatio...

BACKGROUND Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure for prostate cancer. During RALP, the patient must be in a steep Trendelenburg (head-down) position, which leads to a significant increase in intraocular pressure (IOP). The association of RALP with visual field sensitivity, however, has not been prospectively studied. The purpose of t...

Postoperative visual loss (POVL) is a rare but catastrophic complication after nonocular surgery. Previously POVL has been reported in lengthy, prone, lateral, or cardiopulmonary cases, with extreme blood loss, hemodilution, and hypotension. The author's index case of POVL following a lengthy operation in steep Trendelenburg position (ST) prompted study of the relationship between intraocular p...

BACKGROUND The use of supraglottic airway devices (SADs) in surgeries with laparoscopic pneumoperitoneum and Trendelenburg (LPT) positioning is controversial due to concerns about insufficient pulmonary ventilation and aspiration. In this prospective, randomized-controlled trial, we evaluated whether the i-gel, a new second generation SAD, provides an effective alternative to an endotracheal tu...

BACKGROUND In order to avoid microaspiration and tracheal injury, the target for endotracheal tube cuff pressure is 20 to 30 cm H2O. OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of changes in body position on cuff pressure in adult patients. METHODS Twelve orally intubated and sedated patients received neuromuscular blockers and were positioned in a neutral starting position (backrest, head-of-bed elevat...

Intraperitoneal insufflation of carbon dioxide may affect the sympathetic activity that leads to changes in ventricular repolarization. This in turn can result in changes of heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval and Tpeak-Tend (Tp-e) interval. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-receptor agonist and has potential antiarrhythmic properties. This prospective, randomized, double-blinded, con...

We report the surgical technique used to perform posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in two patients with a well positioned and functional hip arthrodesis. Intraoperatively, the operating table was placed in an increased Trendelenburg position. Episodically, we flexed the foot of the table by 90° to allow maximal knee flexion to facilitate exposure and bone cuts. We opted to rese...