Acute liver injury after desflurane anesthesia: A case report

Choi, Jae Chan; Lee, Kwang Ho; Kim, Jong Soo; Ryu, Hoon; Ryoo, Sungwoo; Lim, Hyun Kyo

Case Report

General Article

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2011;6(1):93-95.
Published online January 31, 2011.

Acute liver injury after desflurane anesthesia: A case report

Jae Chan Choi, Kwang Ho Lee, Jong Soo Kim, Hoon Ryu, Sungwoo Ryoo, Hyun Kyo Lim

¹Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea. hyunkyolim@yonsei.ac.kr
²Department of Surgery, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
³Biology Program, Division of Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea.

Abstract

Most general anesthesia procedures are performed without any complications, but volatile agents may have adverse effects on various organ systems. Volatile anesthetic agents can cause mild to fulminant liver failure. However, while desflurane is a theoretical cause of hepatotoxicity, such cases have rarely been reported. We present here a 49-year-old man who developed hepatic dysfunction after laparoscopic cholecystectomy and this procedure was done under desflurane anesthesia.

Key Words: Anesthesia, Desflurane, Hepatotoxicity