Anesthetic Management for Medialization Laryngoplasty Performed Under Concurrent Dexmedetomidine, Remifentanil, and Propofol Infusions.

INTRODUCTION

Type I thyroplasty, or medialization larygoplasty (ML), is a procedure which improves the voice by medializing a vocal fold with a permanent implant. Anesthetic management of these cases is challenging because patients can require periods of deep sedation followed by fully awake moments for phonation to assess the implant size. We present our experience of ML with or without arytenoid adduction (AA) using a multimodal anesthetic regimen consisting of concurrent infusions of dexmedetomidine, remifentanil, and propofol.

METHODS

This is a retrospective case series of patients anesthetized using this protocol from June 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017.

RESULTS

Seventy-five consecutive ML with or without AA patients anesthetized with dexmedetomidine and remifentanil infusions were identified, of which 74 (98.7%) also received concurrent propofol infusions. Mean duration of sedation was 190.9 ± 36.9 minutes and surgery was 139 ± 35.3 minutes. Transient hypopnea treated with supplemental oxygen complicated 18 (24%) cases and bradycardia requiring pharmacologic treatment complicated 3 (4%) cases. There were no other adverse anesthetic complications. One patient required surgical re-exploration due to postsurgical bleeding after the initial hospital discharge.

CONCLUSION

In this cohort, a combination of remifentanil, dexmedetomidine and propofol infusions was well tolerated without serious adverse perioperative events.