Comparison of the effects of spinal anesthesia and combined spinal epidural anesthesia in inguinal hernia operations

Objective: Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common operations in general surgery practice. Neuroaxial anesthesia allows the patient to awake and spontaneously breathe, the procedure is simple and easy, provides the appropriate anesthetic conditions for surgery, and allows early post-operative pain control and provides early discharge advantageous compared to other techniques. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of spinal anesthesia and combined spinal epidural anesthesia techniques on hemodynamics, block levels and side effects in inguinal hernia operations. Results: Demographic data were similar for both groups. There was no difference between the preoperative hemodynamic parameters of the patients. Mean arterial pressure was lower in Group SA at 15th and 30th minutes and this difference was statistically significant. In addition, 18 (36%) patients in Group SA and 6 (12%) patients in the Group KSE were 30% or less in the total, according to the entrance systolic arterial pressure. In addition, the number of patients with a mean arterial pressure lower than 60 mmHg was 11 (22%) in Group SA and 3 (6%) in Group KSE. The total amount of norepinephrine used was 32 µg in group KSE and this amount was measured as 104 µg in group SA. Conclusion: Combined spinal epidural anesthesia provides a stable hemodynamics in inguinal hernia operations and provides an effective and safe anesthesia environment by reducing intrathecal dose of local anesthetic and inotropic requirement. Key words: Inguinal Hernia, Spinal Anesthesia, Combined Spinal Epidural Anesthesia, Hemodynamics