Cardiorespiratory effects of a balanced anesthetic technique in outpatient general anesthesia.

Detailed measures have been made of the cardiorespiratory effects of a balanced general anesthetic technique on ten young patients undergoing oral surgery. The combination of fentanyl, diazepam, and atropine followed by N2O/O2 and methohexital resulted in a respiratory hyperoxic state throughout surgery and there was no evidence of hypercardia at any anesthesia stage. Cardiovascular stability was judged to be generally superior to that reported for techniques that have relied on methohexital without premedication. This balanced general anesthetic technique offers the oral surgeon-anesthetist a safe, effective, and practical alternative to techniques that rely on more potent anesthetic gases.