Anesthesia management in posterior fossa surgery

Purpose: Anesthesia management in posterior fossa surgery may be challenging due to anatomical features, patient profile and operation position. Intraoperative hemodynamic changes, brain stem damage, and venous air embolism may occur. The aim of this study was to present our anesthesia experience in patients who underwent posterior fossa tumor surgery and to discuss the current literature. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients between the ages of 1-74 years, who underwent posterior fossa tumor surgery between 2015-2017 years were evaluated retrospectively. Results: The age of the patients was between 1 and 74 years and 76.7% of them were male. The mean operation time was 242,7 minutes. Complications observed during intraoperative period were hypotension (20%), brdycardia (13.3%), asystole (3.3%), venous air embolism (6.6%). 25 (83.3%) patients were extubated and 5 (%16,7) patients could not be extubated at the end of the operation. The mean duration of stay in the intensive care unit was 5.6 +/- 4.6 days and the duration of hospital stay was 14.7 +/- 15.7 days. In the postoperative period, 5 (16.7%) patients were re-operated, 1 (3.3%) patient was exitus, and 29 (96.7%) patients were discharged from the hospital. Conclusion: In posterior fossa surgery, anesthesia management may be a dynamic and challenging process. The complication rate can be minimized with appropriate patient selection and preoperative preparation, intraoperative monitoring and selection of anesthetic agents.