Caudal Anaesthesia with Levobupivacaine for Inguinal Hernia Surgery in Children with Severe Congenital Anomaly: A Three-Case Report

ABSTRACT Airway management is particularly difficult in children with severe congenital anomalies. Such patients are extre- mely sensitive to the respiratory depressant effects of anaesthetic agents. We describe the successful and safe app- lication of caudal anaesthesia for inguinal hernia repair in three cases with severe congenital anomalies (Joubert syndrome, I-cell syndrome). The three patients concerned had congenital anomalies including serious facial defor- mity, respiratory failure and cardiovascular defects. They were administered a single dose of caudal epidural anaest- hesia for inguinal hernia surgery in order to avoid complications associated with general anaesthesia. Caudal block was performed and 1 mL/kg levobupivacaine 0.25% administered. We conclude that caudal epidural anaesthesia can be an effective, suitable and safe anaesthetic technique for inguinal herniotomy without the need for general anaesthesia or endotracheal intubation in children with severe congenital anomalies.  Key Words: Caudal anaesthesia, children, congenital anomaly OZET Havayolu yonetimi, ciddi konjenital anomalileri olan cocuklarda ozellikle zordur. Bu tur hastalar anestezik ilaclarin solunum depresan etkilerine karsi asiri derecede duyarlidir. Kaudal anestezinin inguinal herni onarimindaki basarili ve guvenli uygulamasi konjenital anomalileri (Joubert sendromu, I-cell hastaligi) olan uc olguda gosterilmistir. Ilgili uc cocuk hastada, ciddi yuz deformitesi, solunum yetmezligi ve kardiyovaskuler bozukluk dahil konjenital bozuk- luklar vardi. Genel anesteziyle iliskili komplikasyonlari onlemek icin inguinal herni cerrahisinde tek doz kaudal epi- dural anestezi uygulandi. Kaudal anestezide %0.25 levobupivakain 1 mL/kg kullanildi. Kaudal epidural anestezinin, ciddi konjenital bozukluklari olan cocuklarda inguinal herni onarimi acisindan genel anesteziye veya endotrakeal entubasyona gerek duyulmadan etkili, uygun ve guvenli bir alternatif anestezi teknigi olabilecegi sonucuna varildi.  A na h ta r Sozcukler: Kaudal anestezi, cocuk, konjenital bozukluk