Muscle relaxation is an important part of anesthesia during surgery. This thesis studied whether a deeper level of muscle relaxation has benefits during keyhole (minimally invasive) abdominal surgery and hip surgery. Although deeper muscle relaxation improves the working conditions of the surgeon, it does not lead to better patient outcomes, such as fewer complications or less pain after surgery. However, it does show that careful monitoring of muscle relaxation is essential to use it safely. Surgery triggers a response from the body’s immune system. In the second part of this thesis, we studied how this inflammatory response develops and whether deeper muscle relaxation affects it. This was not the case. We did find a clear pattern: an early phase of increased immune activity after surgery, followed by a phase where the immune system becomes suppressed can be an early warning sign for complications after surgery.
Veerle Bijkerk (1995) obtained her master’s degree in medicine at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in 2020. Afterwards she worked as resident at different departments. In 2022 she started with her PhD at the departments of Surgery and Anesthesiology of Radboud university medical center. Currently, she is resident in Anesthesiology at the Radboud university medical center and Rijnstate hospital.