"Conscious sedation" for laparoscopy

End-tidal pCO2, mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate changes during diagnostic gynecological laparoscopy were studied in 30 healthy women by the technique of "conscious sedation" combined with local anesthesia of the skin and peritoneum. No significant hypercarbia or hypoxia was noted. Patients were discharged from hospital within 6 to 8 h of the laparoscopy; all noted their full satisfaction with this method of anesthesia. "Conscious sedation" appears to be a safe and efficient method for short diagnosis laparoscopies in young, nonobese, otherwise healthy patients in whom full general anesthesia is refused or considered inadvisable.