Anesthesia for endovascular aortic surgery

Abstract

Endovascular aortic surgery presents unique challenges to the anesthesia care team. The ability to care for potentially complex vascular problems in patients with a wide range of comorbidities through a relatively noninvasive, percutaneous approach allows for a seemingly endless number of permutations of anesthetic interventions. This can allow for what might be thought of as interesting combinations of interventions such as the placement of invasive arterial catheters at multiple sites and/or pulmonary artery catheterization in a patient-undergoing a procedure under monitored anesthesia care (MAC) with little or no sedation. Furthermore, while the hope is always for a quick and complication-free operative course, the anesthesia care team must be prepared for potential catastrophe given the nature and location of the inherent pathology. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.