Regional Anesthesia for Lumbar Spine Surgery: Can It Be a Standard in the Future?

This paper is an overview of various features of regional anesthesia (RA) and aims to introduce spine surgeons unfamiliar with RA. RA is commonly used for procedures that involve the lower extremities, perineum, pelvic girdle, or lower abdomen. However, general anesthesia (GA) is preferred and most commonly used for lumbar spine surgery.

Regional Versus General Anesthesia: Effect of Anesthetic Techniques on Clinical Outcome in Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: There are only a few prospective clinical trials investigating the effects of different anesthetic techniques on clinical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes in patients receiving general (GA) and regional anesthesia (RA) for lumbar spine surgery.

Methods: This was a single-center, 2-arm, trial in which 100 patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery were randomized to receive either RA or GA (50 per group).