Postoperative Water and Electrolyte Changes in Natives of High Altitudes

¹ From La Oroya and Lima, Peru

In a study of 20 normal Peruvian men and women, natives at an altitude of 12,240 feet above sea level, plasma sodium and chloride were increased, plasma bicarbonate decreased and plasma potassium unchanged as compared with the corresponding values at sea level. In 18 natives of high altitude undergoing elective surgery for abdominal conditions, the postoperative responses to surgical stress as measured by hematocrit, plasma and urinary electrolytes, and water and ion balance studies, were quite similar to the alterations reported at sea level in Peru and in other countries. All patients withstood major abdominal surgery well and were discharged from the hospital symptomatically improved.