Same day drainage and removal of a giant ovarian cyst

An unusual case of a giant ovarian cyst was successfully anaesthetized with a combination of epidural followed by general anaesthesia. The method was chosen to avoid circulatory depression and re-expansion pulmonary oedema in removal of a giant tumour in a woman who did not understand the nature of her disease.

A 58-yr-old woman (107.6 kg, 150 cm and abdominal girth: 163.5 cm) was admitted for removal of a giant ovarian cyst. There was gross-pitting oedema of both legs and an elevated diaphragm but no pleural effusion. She did not understand the severity of her disease. It was decided to drain the cyst gradually, followed by total surgical removal on the same day. An epidural catheter was inserted at the L3-4 interspace with the patient in the left lateral position and, under epidural anaesthesia, 44.3 L fluid were drained over two hours without producing circulatory depression or pulmonary oedema. General anaesthesia was induced, with the patient in the supine position, by slow injection of 10 mg midazolam, 100 micrograms fentanyl and inhalation of nitrous oxide 50% in oxygen, and maintained with adding epidural block using lidocaine 1.5% and bupivacaine 0.5%, and sevoflurane 0.4 to 0.8%. During surgery, the volume of infused fluid was carefully controlled with central venous pressure monitoring. Ulinastatin, a protease inhibitor, was infused to prevent pulmonary oedema. No circulatory depression nor pulmonary oedema occurred perioperatively.

For the removal of a giant ovarian cyst, slow drainage over two hours under epidural anaesthesia may safely precede later removal of the cyst on the same day under general anaesthesia.