Korean J Anesthesiol.  1983 Sep;16(3):266-269.

Anesthesia for Thymectomy in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis

• Song SO
• Kim AR
• Jeon JK

Abstract

Myasthenia gravis is a neuromuscular disorder manifested by fatigability and weakness of the skeletal muscles. The basic defect in the myasthenia is the reduction of available acetylchopline receptors at neuromuscular junctions by an autoimmune mechanism. The thymus gland seems intimately involved in the disease process and removal of the thymus gland plays an important role in the management of this disease. In this article, we had three cases of thymectomies for myasthenia gravis. The first two were females, 17 and 26 year old. They were anesthetized for thymectomies using succinylcholine, pancuronium, sodium pentothal and. N2O-Halothane. The third case, a 40 year old female was not given any muscle relaxants because of the severity of the disease and her respiration was controlled for a month postoperatively. For the cases, the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of anesthesia and the use of muscle relaxants are described.

MeSH Terms

Adult
Anesthesia*
Female
Humans
Muscle, Skeletal
Myasthenia Gravis*
Neuromuscular Junction
Pancuronium
Respiration
Sodium
Succinylcholine
Thiopental
Thymectomy*
Thymus Gland
Pancuronium
Sodium
Succinylcholine
Thiopental