Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-06T13:43:29.593Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 27 - Anaesthesia for Ophthalmic Surgery in Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2025

James Ip
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Grant Stuart
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Isabeau Walker
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Ian James
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London
Get access

Summary

Ophthalmic surgery takes place in children of all ages, from premature neonates to teenagers, the majority of whom are ASA 1 or 2. In some cases, the ocular pathology may be part of a wider congenital or metabolic abnormality and anaesthesia is not so straightforward. Nearly all will require general anaesthesia. Anxiety can be common in children returning for repeated procedures, and premedication may be necessary. Surgery can be extraocular or intraocular. Simple day-case procedures can usually be managed with an inhalational spontaneous breathing technique and supraglottic airway device (SAD). Certain more complex cases necessitate a completely still eye, and muscle relaxation is therefore usually required. Special anaesthetic considerations are management of the oculocardiac reflex (OCR), commonly elicited by traction on the recti muscles and prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV); strabismus surgery is particularly emetogenic. The majority of ophthalmic surgery is not particularly painful, and simple analgesia with paracetamol and NSAIDs is sufficient. Regional ophthalmic blocks, such as sub-Tenons, can supplement or offer an alternative to opiates when additional analgesia is required. This has the added advantage of producing akinesis of the globe and a beneficial reduction in PONV and the OCR.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Ali, U, Tsang, M, Campbell, F et al. Reducing postoperative pain in children undergoing strabismus surgery: from bundle implementation to clinical decision support tools. Pediatric Anesthesia 2020; 30:415–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farkouh, A, Frigo, P, Czejka, M. Systemic side effects of eye drops: a pharmacokinetic perspective. Clinical Ophthalmology 2016; 10:2433–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jean, Y-K, Kam, D, Gayer, S, Palte, H, Stein, A. Regional anesthesia for pediatric ophthalmic surgery: a review of the literature. Anesthesia Analgesia 2020; 130:1351–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, H, James, I. Update on anaesthesia for paediatric ophthalmic surgery. BJA Education 2021; 21(1):32–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vachon, CA, Warner, DO, Bacon, DR. Succinylcholine and the open globe: tracing the teaching. Anesthesiology 2003; 99(1):220–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×