Effective anesthetic management with remimazolam and ketamine without muscle relaxants for parotidectomy in a patient with myotonic dystrophy: A case report

Patients with myotonic dystrophy (DM) are highly sensitive to anesthetics, muscle relaxants, and opioids, necessitating appropriate anesthetic management. Recently, remimazolam, an ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine, has been approved for use as a general anesthetic in Japan, and patients with DM have reportedly been treated with remimazolam. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has reported on endotracheal intubation without the use of muscle relaxants under anesthetic management with remimazolam, nor on the combination of remimazolam and ketamine. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 23-year-old man was referred to our hospital for right parotidectomy and diagnosed with DM just before surgery. At the surgeon’s discretion, he was scheduled to undergo nerve monitoring to preserve the facial nerve. DIAGNOSIS: Myotonic dystrophy. INTERVENTIONS: We planned total intravenous anesthesia without muscle relaxants and selected remimazolam for anesthesia. Our aim was to prevent the intraoperative or postoperative complications associated with propofol and inhalational anesthetics. Additionally, we selected multimodal analgesia, including ketamine, to avoid opioid use. General anesthesia was induced with ketamine 30 mg, remifentanil 0.72 μg/kg/min, and remimazolam 12 + 6 mg. Endotracheal intubation was performed under videolaryngoscopy without the use of muscle relaxants. For postoperative analgesia, we administered additional doses of ketamine 20 mg and acetaminophen 1000 mg, and the surgeons infiltrated 8 mL of xylocaine 0.5% with epinephrine into the skin incision before starting the surgery. Intraoperative anesthesia was maintained with remimazolam 0.9 to 1.0 mg/kg/h and remifentanil 0.26 to 0.50 μg/kg/min. Flumazenil was administered for rapid awakening and safe extubation. All vitals, including the bispectral index, were stable during surgery. OUTCOMES: The patient did not develop facial nerve paralysis, sore throat, or hoarseness, nor did he have any memory of the surgery. Good postoperative analgesia was achieved. LESSONS: We achieved effective anesthetic management using remimazolam without muscle relaxants in a patient with DM. Furthermore, the combination of remimazolam and ketamine provided good sedation and postoperative analgesia.