Anaesthetic complication in a Morbidly Obese Patient

Abstract

We report the anaesthetic management of a 42yr old morbidly obese woman (BMI 55kg m2) who was diagnosed with chronic calculous cholecystitis and had an open cholecystectomy. There was difficult endotracheal intubation by conventional laryngoscopy. The patient was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit(ICU) due to poor oxygen saturation in the immediate postoperative period. In the intensive care unit, the patient had opioid-induced respiratory depression and an attempt at re-intubation resulted in cardiopulmonary arrest. There was a return of spontaneous circulation on cardiopulmonary resuscitation but the patient had mechanical ventilation for hours before the return of spontaneous respiration. The patient was transferred to the ward on the 3rd postoperative day and was discharged home on the 9th postoperative. The aim of this case report is to bring out the anaesthetic complications that occurred in this extremely obese patient and to serve as a precautionary measure for future anaesthesia in similar patients.