[Electrostimulation anesthesia in surgery of the retina and vitreous body]

Needling of acupuncture points combined with mechanical or electrical stimulation is insufficient for analgesia for surgical interventions. Therefore a new concept of anesthesia was developed: Electrostimulation has been combined with induction of anesthesia, relaxation and controlled ventilation with a mixture of N2O/O2. We have used this method of anesthesia in patients undergoing retinal and vitreous surgery. Our stimulation has been done by self-adhesive electrodes placed bilaterally in the area of trigeminal nerve and cervical plexus. The aim of this study was to investigate the stress response under electrostimulation anesthesia compared with neurolept anesthesia. Therefore the plasma concentrations of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol and some metabolic parameters (glucose, glycerol, NEFA, ketone bodies) as well as heart rate and arterial blood pressure were measured before, during and after surgery. The changes in the parameters under surgery showed that ESA induces a higher stress reaction than NLA. The differences between the two groups are not significant.