Purpose: This study was designed to demonstrate the usefulness of a method of regional anesthesia for circular stapler anopexy for prolapsing hemorrhoids.
Methods: Thirty-three patients consented to stapled anopexy under perianal local anesthesia. Eighteen patients with stapled anopexy under general anesthesia were controls. The perianal block was applied with 40 ml of ropivacaine, 4.75 mg/ml, injected immediately peripheral to the external sphincter. A submucosal block with 15 ml of ropivacaine, 2 mg/ml, was added after applying the pursestring suture. Postoperative pain was rated by the patient for 14 days by using a ten-point visual analogue scale. Patients also submitted a preoperative and postoperative (3-6 months) symptom questionnaire to rate anal symptoms.
Results: No operation was converted to general anesthesia. Operation time was similar in both groups. All patients in the local anesthesia group were pain free at discharge. The sums of pain scores during 14 days for daily average pain and peak pain were similar in both groups (average pain 23 (local anesthesia) vs. 35 (general anesthesia); peak pain 39 (local anesthesia) vs. 50 (general anesthesia); P>0.05). The preoperative symptom scores were 7.8 (local anesthesia) vs. 8.9 (general anesthesia) points, and the follow-up scores were 2.2 (local anesthesia) and 2.7 (general anesthesia), a significant improvement (P=0.001) in both groups but not different between groups.
Conclusions: A perianal local block is easy to apply and has a high degree of acceptance among patients. The operation time, postoperative pain, and success rates of the operation equaled those of stapled anopexy performed under general anesthesia. The advantages are quicker turnover between cases and simpler management of pain-free postoperative patients in day surgery.