[Anesthetic management for caesarean delivery in a parturient with achondroplasia].

[achondroplasia]

A 27 -year -old parturient (height , 130 cm ; weight , 43 kg ) with achondroplasia , which is characterized by rhizomeric short stature , large head and frontal bossing , was scheduled for elective caesarean section (C /S ) because of her contracted pelvis . Her first delivery had been performed by C /S under general anesthesia at a regional hospital 6 years before . Preoperative airway assessment showed normal mouth opening and mobile cervical spine . Since she had anxiety about needle puncture and refused neuraxial blockade and since we considered the trachea could be intubated , we decided to perform C /S under general anesthesia at 37 weeks of gestation . The patient and baby had an uneventful perioperative course . Underdevelopment of bone formation results in characteristic craniofacial and vertebral abnormalities in patients with achondroplasia . Anesthetic management of achondroplastic parturients should be specified to individual basis based on careful preoperative assessment of craniofacial and vertebral deformities .