A study, published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, examined anesthesia duration and its correlation to surgical complications, MedicalXpress reports.
Jacob Brady, a researcher at Newark-based Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and colleagues identified 630 patients in the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who underwent head and neck microvascular reconstruction. Researchers measured for mean anesthesia duration.
Increased anesthesia duration resulted in increased: 30-day complication rate; 30-day postoperative surgical complications; postoperative transfusion rates; and wound disruption rates.
However, increased anesthesia use was not associated with specific medical complications, medical complication rate or mortality. When adjusted for demographics and preoperative factors, overall complications, surgical complications and postoperative complications were all still associated with increased anesthesia duration.
Researchers concluded, "Avoidance of excessive blood loss and prolonged anesthesia time should be the goal when performing head and neck free flap surgery."