Papers by Willem Van Der Ham
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2006
Occasionally patients awaiting heart or lung transplant because of terminal disease require other... more Occasionally patients awaiting heart or lung transplant because of terminal disease require other types of surgery, but present significant challenges to the anaesthetist because of impaired organ function. Regional anaesthesia may have much to offer such patients and we here report one who underwent successfully a laparoscopic cholecystectomy under segmental subarachnoid (spinal) anaesthesia performed at the low thoracic level. The anatomical and physiological consequences of such a technique are discussed. 2006; 96: 464-6
Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, 2010
Background and Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate, with magnetic resonance ima... more Background and Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate, with magnetic resonance imaging, the human anatomic positions of the spinal canal (eg, spinal cord, thecal tissue) in various postures and identify possible implications from different patient positioning for neuraxial anesthetic practice.
British journal of anaesthesia, 2007
Laparoscopic surgery is normally performed under general anaesthesia, but regional techniques hav... more Laparoscopic surgery is normally performed under general anaesthesia, but regional techniques have been found beneficial, usually in the management of patients with major medical problems. Encouraged by such experience, we performed a feasibility study of segmental spinal anaesthesia in healthy patients. Twenty ASA I or II patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy received a segmental (T10 injection) spinal anaesthetic using 1 ml of bupivacaine 5 mg ml-1 mixed with 0.5 ml of sufentanil 5 microg ml-1. Other drugs were only given (systemically) to manage patient anxiety, pain, nausea, hypotension, or pruritus during or after surgery. The patients were reviewed 3 days postoperatively by telephone. The spinal anaesthetic was performed easily in all patients, although one complained of paraesthesiae which responded to slight needle withdrawal. The block was effective for surgery in all 20 patients, six experiencing some discomfort which was readily treated with small dose...
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Papers by Willem Van Der Ham