The sitting position for neurosurgery in children: a review of 16 years' experience

Background. Use of the sitting position for neurosurgery is controversial. The main concern is the risk of venous air embolus (VAE) and its sequelae. Methods. The paediatric neurosurgeons at our institution routinely use the sitting position for posterior fossa and pineal surgery, and a retrospective audit of the incidence of VAE from 1982 to 1998 has been performed. Results. Venous air embolism, defined as a fall in end-tidal carbon dioxide pressure >0.4 kPa, was detected in 38 of 407 operations (9.3%). A fall in systolic arterial pressure >10% accompanied the VAE in nine out of 43 episodes (20.9%); this represents 2% of all operations. All VAE episodes responded promptly to treatment and there was no perioperative morbidity or mortality directly attributed to it. Conclusions. This is the largest study of the incidence of VAE in children undergoing neurosurgery. Our results suggest that the sitting position can be used safely for neurosurgery in children.