Anesthesia management of a morbidly obese patient in prone position for lumbar spine surgery

A morbidly obese, 45-year-old woman with a body mass index of 47 kg/m(2) , presented with a prolapsed intervertebral disc of the lumbar spine for decompression and fixation. Anesthesia and surgical positioning of morbidly obese patient carries 3 main hazards, namely, morbid obesity, prone position, and airway preservation problems. Morbid obesity has its own hazards of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolus. Here we describe anesthetic management, successfully dealing with the specific problems of this patient due to obesity.