Opioid Free Anesthesia for Laparotomic Hemicolectomy: A Case Report

Opioid free anesthesia (OFA) is deffined as anaesthesiological technique where opioids are not used in the intraoperative period (systemic, neuroaxial or intracavitary). Anaphylaxis caused by opioids (fentanyl) is very rare, and the reaction is presented with hypotension and urticaria. When we have proven allergy to fentanyl, patients’ refusal of placing epidural catheter and refusal of receiving bilateral ultrasound guided transversus abdominis plane block (USG TAPB), we must think of using multimodal nonopioide analgesia. The concept of multimodal balanced analgesia is consisted of giving different analgesic drugs in purpose to change the pathophysiological process which is included in nociception, in way to receive more effective intraoperative analgesia with less adverse effects. This is a case report of a 60-year-old male patient scheduled for laparotomic hemicolectomy, who previously had proven allergy to fentanyl. We have decided to give him an opioid free anaesthesia. Before the induction to anaesthesia, the patient would receive dexamethasone (dexasone) 0.1 mg/kg and paracetamol 1 gr intravenously. The patient was induced into general endotracheal anesthesia according to a standardized protocol, with midazolam 0.04 mg/kg, lidocaine hydrochloride 1 mg/kg, propofol 2 mg/kg and rocuronium bromide 0.6 mg/kg. Anaesthesia was maintained by using sevoflurane MAC 1 in order to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP) with a value of +/- 20% of the original value. After tracheal intubation, the patient had received ketamine hydrochloride 0.5 mg/kg (or 50 mg ketamine) in bolus intravenously and a continuous intravenous infusion with lidocaine hydrochloride (lidocaine) 2 mg/kg/hr and magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄) 1,5 gr/hr. At the end of surgery the continuous intravenous infusion with lidocaine and magnesium sulfate was stopped while the abdominal wall was closed and 2.5 g of metamizole (novalgetol) was given intravenously. VAS score 2 hours after surgery was 6/10 and 1 gr of paracetamol was given and the patient was transferred to the Department. Over the next 3 days, the patient had a VAS score of 4-6/10 and only received paracetamol 3x1g and novalgetol 3x1 gr daily, every four hours.