Anesthetic Management of an Adult Patient With Down Syndrome for Thoracic Surgery

The anesthetic management of adult patient with Down syndrome (DS) can be challenging due to poor patient cooperation, age-related comorbidities, and a possible difficult airway. Thoracic anesthesia requires an advanced airway management; thus, treatment of DS patients can be particularly demanding. An accurate preoperative assessment is paramount in order to plan a well-designed perioperative strategy in advance. This report describes the anesthetic management of an adult patient affected by DS who underwent pleural decortication for pleural empyema.