[The method of low-flow xenon anesthesia]

Two variants of low-flow xenon (Xe) anesthesia was used in 150 patients operated on in general surgery, gynecology, urology, and vascular surgery; 116 patients received a combined endotracheal variant of Xe anesthesia and 34 patients received mask-type mono-narcosis. Limited possibilities of Russian-made apparatuses ("Polinarkon-2P") were shown in the process of minimizing the Xe consumption. An average Xe consumption reached, in a 2-hour anesthetic session, 42 l ($210). When foreign-made narcosis apparatuses ("Medimorph", "Anemat-8" etc.) were used, it was possible to minimize the Xe consumption during the same time period to 22 l ($110). When the endotracheal variant was in use, the Xe consumption was 15-16 l ($75-80) during 2 hours. When Xe was recycled by the desorption processor and fine cleaning at "Akela-N" Ltd. production facility, the cost of 2-hour anesthesia went down five-fold ($16-20). The article contains some recommendations made by authors to improve the method of low-flow Xe anesthesia as a method reducing the cost of Xe anesthesia in the routine medical practice.