Continuous spinal anesthesia/analgesia for perioperative management of morbidly obese patients undergoing laparotomy for gastroplastic surgery.

Background: The authors determined prospectively the safety of continuous spinal anesthesia combined with general anesthesia and the efficacy of postoperative pain relief with continuous spinal analgesia for morbidly obese patients undergoing vertical banded gastroplasty.

Methods: 27 patients (13 men, 14 women) with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 50.4 +/- 7.