Spinal anesthesia for outpatients: appropriate agents and techniques.

With attention to appropriate selection of drugs, techniques, and needles, spinal anesthesia offers significant advantages in the outpatient setting. The combination of rapid onset, high reliability, and technical ease, along with the lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, allows for rapid turnover and discharge. The incidence of headache should not be a limiting factor if appropriate small, rounded bevel needles are used, and the technique is used primarily in the population aged over 40 years.