DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i02.002

Pages: 300-306

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is conventionally performed under general anesthesia (GA) in our institution. There are multiple studies which have found spinal anesthesia as a safe alternative. The study aimed to evaluate efficacy and advantages of performing laparoscopic cholecystectomy under spinal anesthesia (SA) in comparison to general anesthesia (GA). Fifty patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis and American Society of Anesthesiologists status I or II were randomly allocated to have LC under spinal (n = 25) or general (n = 25) anesthesia. Intra-operative vitals, postoperative pain, complications, recovery, and patient’s satisfaction were compared between the 2 groups. Mean age of the patients was 48 years. Out of the total study participants 10% were males and 90% were females. In the SA group more patients complained of shoulder pain and also there were more incidences of bradycardia and hypotension during intra-operative period in SA group. There was no statistically significant difference in operating time between the two groups. Significantly fewer patients had post-operative vomiting and pain at operated site in the SA group. Gut function returned within 12 hours, restored early in SA group. Port site infection and hospital stay (in days) were also significantly less in SA group as compared to GA group. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy done under spinal anesthesia is feasible and safe. It can be recommended to be the anesthesia technique of choice for conducting laparoscopic cholecystectomy in hospital setups in developing countries where cost factor is a major factor.