Abstract:
Orbital exenteration is a disfiguring operation involving the removal of the entire contents
of the orbit, with or without the eyelids. It is widely felt that such extensive surgery can
only be performed under general anesthesia. We report our experience with a patient
who underwent orbitalexenteration under trigeminal block with intravenous sedation.
A 68‐year‐old male patient was diagnosed to have orbital cellulitis (mucormycosis),
uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy with
severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction with severe pulmonary artery hypertension,
and nephropathy. We decided to avoid general anesthesia for such a high‐risk patient
with many co‐morbid illnesses. We gave trigeminal block using a 22‐G spinal needle
with local anesthetic solution of bupivacaine 0.5% by classic approach. A standard
exenteration was performed and the patient tolerated the procedure well with no
complications.
