Enflurane anesthesia in living donor renal transplantation

Anesthesia for kidney transplant surgery

Organ viability associated with renal transplantation is a product of the managing of the donor patient, the allograft, and the recipient patient. Short- and long-term outcome is influenced by perioperative fluid and drug treatment, and the function and viability of the transplanted kidney seem to be optimized if graft perfusion is maximized through mild hypervolemia. At the same time, careful balancing of intraoperative fluids is necessary against cardiovascular problems frequently encountered in patients with uremia. Close intraoperative monitoring, optimization of intravascular fluid volume status to maximize kidney perfusion, and prompt correction of electrolyte disturbances (especially potassium) are key to short- and long-term success of renal transplants.

Anaesthesiological complications in renal transplantation: a retrospective study of 500 transplantations

This retrospective study consisted of 500 consecutive renal transplantations performed between September 1977 and September 1981. Preoperatively, congestive heart failure was registered in 262 cases (53.0%) and blood pressure disease in 352 cases (71.3%). The total number of patients with ischaemic heart disease was 22 (4.5%). General anaesthesia was given in 493 and regional anaesthesia in seven cases. In general anaesthesias, tubocurarine was the main relaxant and halothane the main inhalation agent used. Major complications during anaesthesia were blood pressure changes with a higher incidence of hypotension (49.6%) than hypertension (26.8%). Severe cardiac arrhythmias were rare and no intraoperative deaths occurred. One patient was successfully resuscitated in the ICU postoperatively, this being possibly related to hypoventilation caused by prolonged muscular relaxation. Other rare complications included one pneumothorax, one haemo- and hydrothorax, and two large haematomas all caused by preoperative central venous cannulation. In 69 cases (14.0%) additional neostigmine doses and in 34 cases (6.9%) naloxone was given at the end of anaesthesia. Pneumonia during the first postoperative week was recorded in 11 cases (2.2%), and occurred only in patients who received general anaesthesia. One of the three patients who died during the first week developed pneumonia postoperatively.

Anaesthesia for renal transplantation--5 years' experience

Two hundred and seventy patients underwent anaesthesia for 280 renal transplants between October 1977 and October 1982. Their medical records were studied retrospectively. These patients were representative of the end-stage chronic renal failure population, with the usual high incidence of cardiovascular and biochemical abnormalities. Most received general anaesthesia, with an intravenous barbiturate, muscle relaxant, narcotic and volatile supplement sequence being the most common. There were no intra-operative deaths. One postoperative death was felt to be influenced by the anaesthetic management. Four patients had life-threatening cardiac complications and a further four required postoperative respiratory support, three for delayed recovery of neuromuscular function and one for "recurarisation". Less serious complications were considerably more common. General anaesthesia utilising suxamethonium and tubocurarine as the relaxants and halothane as the volatile supplement is least likely to result in complications. Changes to this anaesthetic sequence are likely with the introduction of new agents.