Dexmedetomidine to Prevent Agitation After Free Flap Surgery
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
1969-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Reconstruction using microvascular free tissue flap has been an important management in
patients with maxillofacial tumor. It is often characterised as long operation time, more
traumatic and require restriction of patient's head movement postoperatively in order to
prevent disruption of microvascular anastomosis. Agitation and delirium are common in
patients with free flap surgery, which may lead to serious consequences such as self
extubation, injury or even failure of the flap.
Dexmedetomidine is a sedative and co-analgesic drug with high specificity for
α2-adrenoceptor. It is widely used in ICU sedation in general hospital. However its use after
free flap surgery is not well documented. Furthermore the effect of Dexmedetomidine on
preventing delirium has not been proved.
The investigators hypothesized that the use of Dexmedetomidine would reduce emergence
agitation and prevent delirium in patients after free flap surgery.