Respiratory complications during anaesthesia in Apert syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Clinical experience with anaesthesia for a series of patients with Apert syndrome (craniosynostosis, midface hypoplasia and syndactyly) has not been reported previously. METHODS: In this review, 10 years of experience was examined at our hospital. There were 145 anaesthetics administered to 18 individuals. RESULTS: There were 16 complications (15 were perioperative wheezing) which occurred in seven patients. In four cases, surgery was cancelled due to intractable wheezing. CONCLUSIONS: We could not demonstrate any benefit from preoperative administration of nebulized albuterol. Paediatric anaesthetists should be aware of this high incidence of respiratory complications in Apert syndrome.