Transthoracic Echocardiography Is Possible in Morbidly Obese Patients During Bariatric Surgery.

Background: To evaluate the feasibility of an abbreviated focus-assessed transthoracic echocardiography protocol in morbidly obese patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether good images could be obtained from this particularly difficult group of patients for whom acoustic imaging is often poor. Heart imaging could be helpful for cardiopulmonary screening and real-time monitoring.

Analgesic effects of a single preoperative dose of pregabalin after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

Background: The treatment of pain in obese patients is always a challenge. These patients have low pain thresholds, and the use of opioids can be especially harmful. Intraoperative nervous fiber section and the high temperatures of electrical scalpels probably contribute to the generation of postoperative neuropathic pain.

Impact of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography during noncardiac surgery.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test if parameters measured by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) could be useful to evaluate the hemodynamic status of high-risk cardiovascular patients and if this information was sufficient to make changes in intraoperative management.

Design: Prospective clinical study.

Setting: Single-university hospital.