ABSTRACT
Pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, has been considered a contraindication of laparoscopic procedure because the effect of CO2 pneumoperitoneum on the fetus and uterine blood flow was unclear. However, the benefits of laparoscopic surgery such as less stress response and shorter hospital stay are postulated. Laparoscopic surgery may be beneficial in pregnant patients compared to open laparotomy, and the safety of laparoscopic operations in pregnant women is under investigation. The careful anesthetic management and close monitoring of patient and fetus will be helpful in making laparoscopic surgery safer in pregnant patients. We report the anesthetic management for laparoscopic surgery in a third trimester pregnant patient with torsion of an ovarian cyst. We monitored the intestinal mucosal CO2 using Tonocap, because we considered it could represent the uterine perfusion and intestinal CO2 status. Although the arterial and intestinal mucosal CO2 tension increased gradually during the operation, hypercapnia was not remarkable. The respiratory and monitored parameters were stable during the laparoscopic procedure. The patient has maintained uneventful pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby at 41 weeks of gestation.