Laparoscopic Abdominal Surgery Under Regional Anesthesia: A Retrospective Evaluation

Aim: Laparoscopic abdominal surgical procedures are usually performed under general anesthesia. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate laparoscopic surgical operations performed with regional anesthesia. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 171 laparoscopic surgery patients including laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) and laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal (TEP) inguinal hernia repair under regional anesthesia from May 2014 to July 2016. Demographic data, type of anesthesia and surgery, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status score, length of procedure, co-existing disease, peroperative and postoperative side effects, postoperative surgical-site pain, and patient satisfaction were recorded. Results: Peroperative side effects were abdominal pain/discomfort (18.7%), shoulder pain (13.5%), anxiety (7.6%) and hypotension (3.5%). Postoperative side effects were shoulder pain (8.7%), urinary retention (7%), headache (6.4%), nausea and vomiting (2.3%). In the first six hours after the surgery, no patients had surgical site pain requiring analgesic treatment. Patient satisfaction was sufficient in 97.7% of patients. Conclusion: Regional anesthesia is an effective and safe anesthesia technique in LC, LA and laparoscopic TEP inguinal hernia repair due to good postoperative pain control, minimal side effects, high patients satisfaction rates and absence of intubation-related complications