Anesthetic management of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) is a ventricular pre-excitation syndrome resulting from an aberrant conduction pathway between the atria and ventricles known as "bundle of Kent."1 Undiagnosed WPW can be worrisome under anesthesia because some anesthetic drugs have a tendency to alter the physiology of atrioventricular (AV) conduction resulting in life-threatening arrhythmias. Also, any increase in sympathetic activity can be arrhythmogenic in patients with WPW.2,3 Therefore, anesthetic management of these patients should be customized according to the surgical procedure and the presenting condition of the patient. The following is a case report for WPW under general anesthesia for diagnostic laparoscopy.