Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancing Varicocele Treatment Through Enhanced Surgical Techniques
Published on: October 25, 2024
[Sedation using dexmedetomidine and remifentanil with local anesthesia for intraoperative speech monitoring: a case
Leonardo Riedi de Andrade1, Yara Marcondes Machado Castiglia2
1Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia (SBA), Centros de Ensino e Treinamento (CET), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil; Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Anestesiologia, Botucatu, SP, Brasil.
Background And Objective:
Some surgical procedures such as laryngoplasty require patients to remain conscious during the intraoperative phase in order to enable speech monitoring. Dexmedetomidine and remifentanil were used in this study, since they promote appropriate patient collaboration with facilitated awakening, and are rapidly eliminated.
Case Report:
The patient complained of dysphonia, which had resulted from unilateral vocal fold paralysis after previous thyroidectomy. The surgical treatment was performed under local anesthesia in association with sedation using dexmedetomidine and remifentanil. The patient was stable and cooperative during the entire intraoperative period, without desaturation and with rapid postoperative awakening.
Conclusion:
Dexmedetomidine and remifentanil can be used for safe sedation; however, the presence of an anesthesiologist is required during the entire intraoperative period.
Related Concept Videos
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Intravenous Regional Anesthesia
One of the advantages of...
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Surface, Infiltration, and Conduction Block Anesthesia
Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview
Sedative-hypnotics are categorized into barbiturates, benzodiazepines (BZDs), and non-benzodiazepines or Z-drugs. These drugs work by suppressing central nervous system activity, and this suppression is dose-dependent. Older sedative medications, like barbiturates, follow a linear curve in...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Barbiturates

