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Updated: May 11, 2026

Deep Neuromuscular Blockade Leads to a Larger Intraabdominal Volume During Laparoscopy
Published on: June 25, 2013
Low-dose spinal anesthesia for urgent laparotomy in severe myasthenia gravis
Miguel Angel Palomero Rodríguez1, Teresa Pérez Mencía, Felipe Villar Alvarez
1Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease with an incidence of 2-10/100,000 cases per year, characterized by muscle weakness secondary to destruction of postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors. In these patients, important perioperative issues remain unresolved, namely, optimal administration of cholinesterase inhibitors, risks of regional anesthesia, and prediction of need of postoperative mechanical ventilation. We describe the use of a low-dose spinal anesthesia in a patient with MG who was submitted for emergence exploratory laparotomy. The utilization of low-dose spinal anesthesia allowed us to perform surgery with no adverse respiratory or cardiovascular events in this patient.
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