Chapter 13 - Anesthesia for endoscopic sinus surgery

Summary

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is among the most challenging of ENT procedures for a variety of reasons including the need for immobility, hemostasis, and, especially, gentle emergence from anesthesia. Anesthesiologists have contributed significantly, using anesthetic techniques to mitigate intraoperative hemorrhage into the surgical field, thus significantly improving visualization of the surgical field. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) strives to enable direct examination in situ with subsequent correction of encountered chronic changes and barriers which limit sinus drainage and aeration. The use of supraglottic airway (SGA) over endotracheal tubes (ETT) appears additionally advantageous, providing reduced incidence and severity of coughing intraoperatively and during emergence. Propofol/remifentanil total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with spontaneous respiration (PRTSR) is considered by some an optimal strategy to avoid emergence problems and provide flexibility, and minimize nausea, vomiting, and estimated blood loss (EBL), while ensuring rapid induction and emergence.