Myotonic Dystrophy and Anesthetic Challenges: A Case Report and Review

Providing anesthesia to patients with myotonic dystrophy (DM) can be very challenging due to the multisystemic effects of the disease and extreme sensitivity of these patients to sedatives, opioids, and anesthetic agents. Other factors such as hypothermia, shivering, or mechanical or electric stimulation during surgery can precipitate myotonia which is difficult to abolish and can lead to further complications. Generally, local or regional anesthesia is preferred to avoid the complications associated with general anesthesia in this group. However there are several case reports of successful use of general anesthesia (with or without volatile agents and with or without opioids). These general anesthetic cases led to postoperative admission to the regular floor or ICU. We present a case of a woman with a history of DM who underwent robotic assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy under general anesthesia and was discharged home on the same day.