 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / July 2004Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy
Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy July 22, 2004 — Spinal anesthesia was better than general anesthesia for radical retropubic prostatectomy, according to the results of a prospective randomized trial published in the July issue of Urology. "General anesthesia is the most frequent form of anesthesia used during radical retropubic prostatectomy," write Andrea Salonia, MD, from University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Scientific Institute H. San Raffaele in Milan, Italy, and colleagues. "Several studies have suggested that epidural anesthesia, as well as general anesthesia plus postoperative epidural anesthesia, can be alternatively used as a valid option for radical retropubic prostatectomy." "These results suggest that spinal anesthesia allows good muscle relaxation and a successful surgical outcome in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer," the authors write. "Moreover, spinal anesthesia results in less intraoperative blood loss, less postoperative pain, and a faster postoperative recovery than general anesthesia." Urology. 2004;64:95-100 *Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy * *July 22, 2004 Spinal anesthesia was better than general anesthesia for *radical retropubic prostatectomy, according to the results of a *prospective randomized trial published in the July issue of Urology. <snip> That explains why they tried to give me an epidural during pre-op prep. The doctor couldn't get a successful entry into my back so general it was...darn scar tissue from previous low back surgery... Al Please be quiet if replying via email, flames will be deleted promptly. I won't even read the whole message... > *Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy > * [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > prep. The doctor couldn't get a successful entry into my back so > general it was...darn scar tissue from previous low back surgery... Al, This study involved spinal anesthesia - not epidural anesthesia - however the two are similar. A spinal involves injecting medications around the spinal cord. A needle (or special tube) is inserted through the skin of the back until it enters the spinal column, or spine. Medication is then injected inside a special sac that surrounds the spinal cord. The medication acts on nerves that come from the spinal cord. With an epidural, medication is also put inside the spinal column. However, with an epidural the medication is injected just outside the sac that surrounds the spinal cord. A spinal requires less medicine and works faster than an epidural. Spinal anesthesia is considered cheaper, easier to perform, and faster to induce than epidural anesthesia. In addition, epidural anesthesia induction is associated with greater trauma and pain for the patient due to use of a larger diameter needle and delayed onset of effect, which lengthens the overall duration of surgery. Spinal anesthesia, however, is not always successful for long surgeries and conversion to general anesthesia may be necessary. > Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Urology. 2004;64:95-100 I asked about it, but my doctor recommended general. I did not need any transfusions and except for perhaps the first few minutes after waking it was for the most pain free. Dale  SignatureEmail: dalej2@mac.com > Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Urology. 2004;64:95-100 Six weeks ago today, I had an epidural in my spine along with sedation. I was not aware of anything during the surgery and recovery went very well. I forgot to ask about blood loss during surgery - I'll have to remember during my August follow-up visit. Sandy K. > Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy > ... I think most doctors prefer general anaesthesia for the simple reason that they don't want the patient to see what's happening. How many times have you gone to a car mechanic and seen a sign that says, "No customers in the garage", or maybe "Labor $40/hour. If you watch, $75/hour." Doctors are no different. Partly they don't want the patient to be conscious because they don't want to deal with the anxiety that some patients will manifest when they see someone cut them open. But one can't help wondering if it's also the case that they don't want the patient to hear the jokes they tell in the operating room, or see some possible mistakes or clumsiness that might take place. Alan > > Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy > > ... [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Alan For car mechs it's an insurance issue. They may have other reasons too. For me, I asked the doc about the epidural and my doc mentioned something like we don't want you to have back problems ect.....I dident ask about it and was more than willing to go with the general. I also don't think those who choose the epidural are awake, they are fast asleep too. Now with a spinal I think they would be awake partly, but I'm not sure. The epidural is used some for childbirth and perhaps others with special medical problems, but again I'm not really qualified to talk about this stuff other than what I've read. Anyone who knows I'd be interested in hearing more about it. I know many here have had both with good results. Dale SignatureEmail: dalej2@mac.com >> Spinal Better Than General Anesthesia for Retropubic Prostatectomy >> ... [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >room, or see some possible mistakes or clumsiness that might >take place. I have had three major surgeries with a spinal.. I don't know how they decide. My RRP was with general anesthesia. Although I was awake during the three spinal surgeries I was on an intravenous tranquilizer of some sort that I kept asking them to increase before the surgeries. By the time I got to the OR I had little sense of what was going on. As for seeing anything you can't. They arrange a sheet in such a way that it totally blocks your view. They are not going to let you go into the OR while still wide awake or let you see what they are doing. Their talk was just chatter to me in my somewhat drugged state. What I liked about the spinals was the fact that when you get to the recovery room it doesn't take long for the tranquilizer to wear off. It's much better than waking from a deep sleep. Gary Nichols > Alan |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.