EPIDURAL ANESTHESIA IN RADICAL UROLOGICAL SURGERY

Radical cystectomy-urinary diversion and radical retropubic prostatectomy are two of the most important surgical interventions of urological oncology. Both of these surgical procedures are usually performed in relatively elderly patients and in the presence of various comorbidities, especially when cystectomy is considered. Recent progress in anesthesiology and post-operative pain management allowed achieving a decrease in the incidence of complications, better patient comfort and shorter hospital stay.

We investigated the efficacy of epidural anesthesia as a single modality and post-operative pain management by the same route in a cohort of patients who underwent radical urological surgery (n: 13) in comparison to a similar group (n: 32) operated under general anesthesia, in a retrospective study.

The amount of blood loss and transfusion rates, were found to be significantly less in epidural anesthesia group. The cost of this procedure was also significantly lower compared to general anesthesia.

In conclusion, epidural anesthesia and post-operative pain management via the same route, allows patients to better tolerate the surgical procedures with higher patient comfort. In addition to these advantages it also provides significant cost reductions as well.