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Anesthetic management of a myotonic dystrophy patient

Last modified: April 10, 2026

This page contains the anesthesia guidelines for healthcare professionals. People with any form of DM may have life-threatening reactions to anesthesia and need careful monitoring.

Download/view the resources

Regardless of the form of DM or the severity of DM symptoms experienced, you can have severe and life-threatening reactions to anesthesia and should be monitored carefully whenever anesthesia is administered.

Download the short one-page Anesthesia Quick Reference Guide to share with your clinician and anesthesiologist.

View the Practical Guideline for Dystrophia Myotonica (DM) 2020, © Societas Neurologica Japonica, 2020, Published by Nankodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, 2020.

Recomendaciones para el Manejo de la Anestesia en los Pacientes con Distrofia Miotónica. Traducido en colaboración con Dres Adolfo López de Munain y Juan J Vilchez.

Praktische Hinweise für das Narkose-/Anästhesie Management eines Patienten mit Myotoner Dystrophie Typ 1. Translated in partnership with DGM, the German Society for Muscle Diseases.