Search

Copyright of Anaesthesist is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A giant hemangioma of the tongue was resected in a 16-year-old otherwise healthy young man (ASA I). Despite a total blood loss of 4,300 ml, corresponding to 105% of the patients intravascular blood volume, no allogeneic red blood cells had to be transfused intraoperatively. Besides minimization of intraoperative blood loss with preoperative alcohol injections into the tumor, ligation of large tumor-perfusing arteries, application of fibrin glue, skillful surgical technique, positioning of the surgical field above the level of the heart, controlled hypotension and maintenance of normothermia, acute normovolemic hemodilution (augmented by preoperative administration of recombinant human erythropoetin - rhEpo) and autotransfusion of lost blood were used for recovery of autologous blood. Under the protection of hyperoxia, a decrease of the hemoglobin (Hb) concentration to 4.2 g/dl was bridged by extreme normovolemic hemodilution. No signs of immanent or manifest tissue hypoxia were encountered. Retransfusion of autologous red blood cells was only started when surgical control of bleeding was achieved. Additionally a total of 4 units of fresh frozen plasma were infused for stabilization of plasma coagulation. After a 9-hour surgical duration, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit, normotensive (with low-dose infusion of norepinephrin) and normothermic with a Hb concentration of 5.6 g/dl. In the face of an increasing lactacidosis 2 units of packed red blood cells were transfused on post surgical day 1.

In a prospective study 150 adult patients with mandible fractures were analysed. Criteria for entry into the study were fractures of the mandibular body with and without associated condylar fractures. The fractures must fit to the Spiessl-classes F1 and F2, L1 to L4, W0 to W3 and the patients must have had a sufficient dentition to judge their occlusion. Not included were patients with combinations of mandible and Le Fort fractures, comminuted and defect fractures and patients who could not communicate preoperatively in order to have a full preoperative examination. The patients were equally distributed among 3 different treatment groups. Group 1 was treated conservatively with MMF, only displaced fractures which needed open reduction were internally fixed with wire osteosynthesis. Group 2 received rigid internal fixation with AO 2.7-plates from an intraoral approach, group 3 internal fixation with miniadaption-plates also from an intraoral approach. Using a standardized treatment protocol the patients were followed in defined intervals up to a maximum of 2 years after therapy. Group 1 presented with the lowest complication rate, group 2 with the highest rate of overall complications as far as disturbances of the occlusion and sensory disturbances were concerned. Except one plate fracture in group 3 with subsequent pseudarthrosis, which required a reosteosynthesis with a rigid plate, no major complications in bone healing were observed.