Background Bleeding during endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) may increase complications and negatively effect the surgery and its outcome. The aim of this study was to compare the surgical field in patients in whom total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) is used as opposed to inhalation anesthesia. A prospective randomized controlled trial was performed. Methods Fifty-six patients undergoing ESS were randomly assigned to receive either inhaled sevoflurane with incremental doses offentanyl (n = 28) or TIVA via a propofol and remifentanil infusion (n = 28) for their general anesthesia. The surgical field was graded every 15 minutes using a validated scoring system. Results The two groups were matched for surgical procedure and computed tomography scores. Patients in the TIVA group were found to have a significantly lower surgical grade score than in the sevoflurane group (p < 0.001). Surgical grade score increased with time in both groups. Mean arterial pressure and pulse were found to influence the surgical field independently (p = 0.003 and p = 0.036 respectively). Mean surgical field grade scores were higher in the patients with allergic fungal sinusitis and nasal polyposis as opposed to chronic rhinosinusitis without polyps or fungus. Lund-Mackay computed tomography scores were found to correlate positively with surgical grade (Spearman rank correlation, p = 0.001). Conclusion In patients undergoing ESS, TIVA results in a better surgical field than inhalational anesthesia.
Comparison of total intravenous anesthesia using propofol and inhalational anesthesia using isoflurane for controlled hypotension in functional endoscopic sinus surgery