Minimal access mitral valve replacement.

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery has recently been advocated as an alternative to the conventional median sternotomy approach. It has several documented advantages and requires a close relationship betweeen the surgeons, anaesthetist and perfusionist for a successful outcome. This article demonstrates our surgical technique for replacement of the mitral valve. The various aspects of the specialised equipment used are also described.

Effect of a remifentanil bolus dose on the cardiovascular response to emergence from anaesthesia and tracheal extubation.

We have examined the effect of remifentanil on the haemodynamic response to emergence from anaesthesia and tracheal extubation in 40 ASA I-II female patients undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy, in a randomized, double-blind study. All patients received a standard general anaesthetic comprising propofol, vecuronium and 1% isoflurane with 66% nitrous oxide in oxygen. At the end of surgery, a bolus dose of remifentanil 1 microgram kg-1 (n = 20) or saline placebo (n = 20) was given and tracheal extubation was performed when standard criteria were achieved. Arterial pressure and heart rate were recorded non-invasively at 1-min intervals from the end of surgery. Remifentanil attenuated the increase in both mean arterial pressure (P < 0.001) and heart rate (P < 0.05) at extubation. Mean time to extubation was 7.2 (SEM 0.6) min and 4.0 (0.5) min in the remifentanil and saline groups, respectively (P < 0.001). There was no difference in the incidence of coughing at extubation, time to recovery from anaesthesia or time to fitness for discharge from the recovery room.