Anaesthesia for minimally invasive surgery

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is rising in popularity. It offers well-known benefits to the patient. However, restricted access to the surgical site and gas insufflation into the body cavities may result in severe complications. From the anaesthetic point of view MIS poses unique challenges associated with creation of pneumoperitoneum, carbon dioxide absorption, specific positioning and monitoring a patient to whom the anaesthetist has often restricted access, in a poorly lit environment. Moreover, with refinement of surgical procedures and growing experience the anaesthetist is presented with patients from high-risk groups (obese, elderly, with advanced cardiac and respiratory disease) who once were deemed unsuitable for the laparoscopic technique. Anaesthetic management is aimed at getting the patient safely through the procedure, minimizing the specific risks arising from laparoscopy and the patient's coexisting medical problems, ensuring quick recovery and a relatively pain-free postoperative course with early return to normal function.