Use of spinal anesthesia does not reduce intraoperative blood loss.

Objectives: To determine whether the use of spinal anesthesia (versus general anesthesia) will result in lower intraoperative blood loss for radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Methods: The patients' charts for one urologist from July 1999 through June 2005 were obtained and reviewed. The data extracted included demographic and perioperative data, including operative time, estimated blood loss, and length of stay.

Results: A total of 1084 charts of radical retropubic prostatectomy patients were obtained and reviewed. No difference was found in the demographic or perioperative data between those who received spinal or general anesthesia. Patients who received spinal anesthesia actually had a greater mean intraoperative blood loss than those who received general anesthesia (1125.9 +/- 576.0 mL versus 1005.7 +/- 518.5 mL, P = 0.60).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that the type of anesthesia (spinal versus general) does not significantly influence the extent of intraoperative blood loss.