Anesthetic management of patients undergoing bariatric surgery: two year experience in a single institution in Switzerland

In the field of anesthesia for bariatric surgery, a wide variety of recommendations exist, but a general consensus on the perioperative management of such patients is missing. We outline the perioperative experiences that we gained in the first two years after introducing a bariatric program.

The perioperative approach was established together with all relevant disciplines. Pertinent topics for the anesthesiologists were; successful airway management, indications for more invasive monitoring, and the planning of the postoperative period and deposition. This retrospective analysis was approved by the local ethics committee. Data are mean [SD].

182 bariatric surgical procedures were performed (147 gastric bypass procedures (GBP; 146 (99.3%) performed laparascopically). GBP patients were 43 [10] years old, 78% female, BMI 45 [7] kg/m², 73% ASA physical status of 2. 42 patients (28.6%) presented with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. 117 GBP (79.6%) patients were intubated conventionally by direct laryngoscopy (one converted to fiber-optic intubation, one aspiration of gastric contents). 32 patients (21.8%) required an arterial line, 10 patients (6.8%) a central venous line. Induction lasted 25 [16] min, the procedure itself 138 [42] min. No blood products were required. Two patients (1.4%) presented with hypothermia (<35°C) at the end of their case. The emergence period lasted 17 [9] min. Postoperatively, 32 patients (21.8%) were transferred to the ICU (one ventilated). The other patients spent 4.1 [0.7] h in the post anesthesia care unit. 15 patients (10.2%) required take backs for surgical revision (two laparotomies).

The physiology and anatomy of bariatric patients demand a tailored approach from both the anesthesiologist and the perioperative team. The interaction of a multi-disciplinary team is key to achieving good outcomes and a low rate of complications.

DRKS00005437 (date of registration 16^th December 2013)