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Abstract The increasing incidence of morbid obesity is a crisis in national healthcare which has precipitated an increase in bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for obesity, with a mean percentage of weight loss after 2 years of 68.2% for laparoscopic bariatric surgery.Anesthetic management of morbidly obese patients poses a challenge to the anesthesiologist. The incidence of obstructive sleep apnea and decreased tissue oxygenation is high in morbidly obese patients, increasing the risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality due to inadequate postoperative ventilation. Obese patients may be sensitive to the respiratory depressant effect of opioid analgesic drugs and more likely to require postoperative ventilation to avoid hypoxic episodes. |