Cardiopulmonary effects of prolonged surgical abdominal retractors application during general anesthesia: a prospective observational comparative study

INTRODUCTION: Increasing abdominal pressures could affect pulmonary compliance and cardiac performance, a fact based on which the aim of the present study to detect the cardiopulmonary burden of multiple retractors application during supine versus lateral abdominal surgeries. We hypothesized that surgical ring multiple retractors application would affect the pulmonary and cardiac functions during both lateral and supine abdominal surgeries. METHODS: Prospective observational comparative study on forty surgical patients subdivided into two groups twenty each, comparing pulmonary compliance and cardiac performance before, during and after retractors application, group (S) supine position cystectomy surgery, and group (L) lateral position nephrectomy surgery under general anesthesia, Composite 1ry outcome; dynamic compliance C-dyn and cardiac index CI and Other outcome variables ICON cardio-meter were also recorded. RESULTS: C-dyn and C-stat were significantly decreased late during retractor application in lateral compared to supine surgery with significant decrease compared to basal values all over the surgical time. CI was significantly increased after retractor removal in both of the study groups compared to basal values. PAWP was significantly increased in -lateral compared to supine surgery -with significant increase compared to basal value all over the surgical time in both of the study groups. significant increase in DO2I compared to basal value during both supine and lateral positions. CONCLUSION: Surgical retraction results in a short-lived significant decreases in lung compliance and cardiac output particularly during the lateral-kidney position than the supine position compliance.