Open Access

CASE REPORT

Radical nephrectomy via epidural-only anesthesia

Timothy V. Johnson¹, Ninetta Bond², Viraj A. Master¹

1 Department of Urology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
2 Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Address correspondence to Dr. Viraj Master, Department of Urology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, 1365 B Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA

Canadian Journal of Urology 2010, 17(5), 5401-5402.

Abstract

We present what we believe is, to the best of our knowledge, the fi rst report of open radical nephrectomy performed under epidural-only anesthesia. Our patient had localized renal cell carcinoma requiring open nephrectomy, but he also had comorbid emphysema that precluded general anesthesia. Epidural anesthesia, which bypassed the pulmonary system, allowed us to perform the surgery.

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Keywords

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