[Anesthesia for 15 morbidly obese parturients undergoing cesarean section].

From 1994 to June 2001, 15 parturients weighing more than 100 kg underwent cesarean section at our institution. Their medical and anesthetic records were reviewed retrospectively. They consisted of 10 primiparous and 5 multiparous patients. Mean body weight was 108.4 +/- 6.3 kg (mean +/- SD) and body mass index (weight in kilograms/[height in meters]2) was 41.6 +/- 2.8 kg.m-2 (min 36.6, max 49.7). Maternal complications included preeclampsia (n = 7, 46.7%), diabetes mellitus (n = 6, 40%) and asthma (n = 1). Of 15 patients, cesarean section was performed under spinal anesthesia in 11 patients and under epidural anesthesia in 4, and none received general anesthesia. All the patients gave live births. Intraoperative complications included hypotension (n = 6) and nausea (n = 3). All of them were free from the morbid postoperative complications except wound dehiscence occurring in four patients.