Venous Thromboembolism: New Concepts in Perioperative Management.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious pathophysiologic condition that is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, especially during the perioperative period. A collective term, VTE is used to describe a blood clot that develops inside the vasculature and results in a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or a pulmonary embolism (PE). Deep vein thrombosis and PE are the third leading cause of cardiovascular mortality, superseded only by myocardial infarction and stroke.

Anesthesia case management for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair.

The incidence of angiopathology involving the aorta and microvasculature is expected to become more prevalent because of increased life expectancy and incidence of obesity. With the advent of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR), patients who were not considered surgical candidates for abdominal aortic aneurysmectomy because of their tenuous physical status can undergo corrective treatment and return to their activities of daily living. Because of the limited invasiveness of the procedure, it is unnecessary to cross-clamp the aorta, which minimizes hemodynamic variability and release of inflammatory mediators.

Anesthesia case management for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

As the population ages, the number of patients in whom lung disease develops and who require surgical intervention will continue to rise. When compared with open thoracotomy, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) offers patients significant advantages. Decreased invasiveness results in less blood loss, a lower rate of infection, and less postoperative pain and allows for quicker recovery.

Anesthesia case management for bariatric surgery.

An increasing number of bariatric surgeries are performed every year. A thorough understanding of the pathophysiologic changes, surgical procedure, and anesthesia case management for morbidly obese patients and of the pharmacology of weight-reduction and anesthetic drugs is essential to provide high-quality anesthetic care. The various comorbidities associated with obesity may complicate anesthetic management.