Sitting or prone? Another argument for the latter.

The case is described of a one-year-old child who underwent a craniectomy in the prone position for the removal of an ependymoma of the cerebellar vermis which had invaded the fourth ventricle. Circulatory arrest occurred. External cardiac massage was successfully carried out without any change of position, and the operation was satisfactorily completed. It is suggested that such an outcome would have been less likely had the patient been in the sitting position. The value of capnography as a guide to the adequacy of the circulation is emphasized and illustrated.