Laparoscopic procedures during pregnancy and the risks of anesthesia: what does an obstetrician need to know?
BACKGROUND
Nonobstetric surgery may be necessary during any stage of gestation.


METHODS
The purpose of this article is to review the current recommendations (using Medline search for the relevant publications) for the perioperative anesthetic management of pregnant women undergoing laparoscopy for indications unrelated to pregnancy.


RESULTS
The current estimates of the incidence of nonobstetric surgery in pregnancy range from 1% to 2%. Laparoscopy is the most common surgical procedure performed in the first trimester of pregnancy, whereas appendectomy is the most common procedure performed during the remainder of pregnancy.


CONCLUSIONS
In the past pregnancy was considered as an absolute contraindication to laparoscopy. However, recent years have brought an extensive experience with this technique during gestation.
Kuczkowski
Krzysztof M
KM
Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center, 200 W. Arbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92103-8770, USA. kkuczkowski@ucsd.edu
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000009:adverse effects; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000009:adverse effects; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D000075202:Contraindications; D005260:Female; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000193:education; D011229:Preanesthetic Medication / Q000009:adverse effects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012143:Respiratory Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D018570:Risk Assessment
D000777:Anesthetics