Gangrenous Bowel Obstruction Managed With Local Tumescent Anesthesia and MAC

Since the mid-1980s, Klein’s tumescent anesthesia has been used routinely in different surgical specialties such as cosmetic surgery, dermatology, vascular surgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, and breast surgery. The tumescent anesthesia technique was developed by Dr Jeffrey Klein, a board-certified dermatologist. The technique was first published in 1987. Tumescent means “swelling.” This technique involves injection of an ultra-dilute lidocaine and epinephrine solution into the surgical planes offering multiple advantages including, but not limited to, postoperative analgesia, reduced blood loss, and avoidance of general anesthesia. The standard liter of Klein’s solution contains lidocaine 1 g, epinephrine 1 mg, and sodium bicarbonate 12.5 mg. Multiple modifications and variations have been implemented and used over the years, an evolution from Klein’s original description. While tumescent anesthesia started in liposuction procedures, its application has now extended into a wider variety of procedures and specialties. In this article, we present a case of tumescent anesthesia in a critically ill general surgery patient who presented with an acute life-threatening surgical emergency. The patient was assessed to be a very high risk for general anesthesia, and after collaborative discussion between the surgical and anesthesia teams and taking informed consent from the patient, the decision was made to proceed with surgery under monitored intravenous sedation with tumescent anesthesia. The patient had an uneventful recovery and survived a very high mortality surgical emergency. He was subsequently discharged back to his nursing home in stable condition. Tumescent anesthesia has become tremendously popular in cosmetic surgery. Tumescent anesthesia allows patients to have surgical procedures in an ambulatory setting, avoid general anesthesia, and allow for better pain control postoperatively. While tumescent anesthesia is used in other specialties, the field of general surgery has not widely adopted tumescent anesthesia. Many general surgeons and anesthesiologists are not familiar with the technique and how to implement it in their practice. It is of utmost importance to understand the pharmacokinetics of tumescent solution and safe implementation. Tumescent anesthesia with monitored anesthesia care is here reported as an alternative to general anesthesia in the care of a moribund patient with multiple comorbidities requiring open abdominal surgery. Close cooperation between the surgeon and the anesthesiologist made the successful conduct of this case possible.