Anesthetic Management for Language Area Mapping with Laryngeal Mask Airway: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy surgery is performed in patients with epilepsy of focal origin and seizures which are refractory to medical treatment. Electrophysiologic mapping of the epileptic foci and other cortical areas (e.g., language, memory, sensorimotor) is frequently used to maximize the resection of the epileptogenic lesion while minimizing the neurologic deficits. For language area mapping, general endotracheal anesthesia can not be used because a patient can not vocalize. So awake craniotomy is frequently used. However, during awake craniotomy for language area mapping with local infiltration anesthesia and intravenous sedation and narcotics supplementation analgesia, respiratory arrest or depression and hypoxemia may occur. The airway securement is crucial to the patients. As an alternative to tracheal tubes, laryngeal mask airway can secure the airway and does not interference the vocalization. We could successfully performed the language area mapping in a 17-year-old male patient with laryngeal mask airway under deep intravenous anesthesia with local infiltration anesthesia of the scalp.