Comparison of the effect of 2 hypotensive anesthetic techniques on early recovery complications after orthognathic surgery.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the recovery complications following the use of 2 anesthetic protocols in orthognathic surgery, namely, propofol with remifentanil and isoflurane with remifentanil. Sixty-two patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I were selected. All underwent bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Propofol with remifentanil was used as an anesthesia in group 1 (n = 32), and isoflurane with remifentanil was used in the patients in group 2 (n = 30). Early recovery complications consisting of pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), shivering, and agitation were evaluated and documented. The length of the operation and duration of recovery were documented for all patients. Analysis of the data demonstrated no relationship between age and recovery time (P > 0.05). Analysis of data with χ(2) and independent t-tests did not show any difference between the 2 groups with regard to pain, agitation, PONV, and shivering (P > 0.05). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of the operation time on recovery complications. The analysis showed that pain and PONV were significantly higher in those who experienced a longer operation time. With increasing operation time longer than 165 minutes, 64% of patients experienced pain, and 89% of them had PONV. General anesthesia can be provided via intravenously administered medications and/or inhaled volatile anesthetics. No significant difference in early recovery time was found in patients when either isoflurane or propofol was used to maintain the anesthesia. However, the length of the operation played a major role in increasing early recovery complications.