Spinal anesthesia and subarachnoid phenol denervation using a modified Lemmon technique.
OBJECTIVE
Five hundred spinal anesthesias and 63 subarachnoid chemical denervations were performed using a modified Lemmon technique with a new spinal needle invented by the author (NLK). This technique avoids some disadvantages of the routine Tuohy technique and is less traumatizing.


METHODS
Comparisons of two of the most popular local anesthetics, lidocaine and trimecaine (mesocaine), and of initial and total doses of anesthetic in plain and hyperbaric glucose solutions were also undertaken.


RESULTS
The comparison revealed a significant (p < 0.01) difference between the required doses of plain and hyperbaric solutions. The mean initial dose of plain lidocaine was 139.0 +/- 54.3 mg (SD), and the mean initial dose of hyperbaric solution was 50.1 +/- 19.6 mg. The mean total dose of plain lidocaine was 150.0 +/- 44.3 mg, and the mean total dose of hyperbaric solution was 97.7 +/- 35.7 mg.


CONCLUSIONS
Hyperbaric solutions permit about a twofold to threefold decrease in initial and total doses of anesthetic. There were three patients with acute urine retention in whom trimecaine was used, and no complications with lidocaine were obtained.
Verenkin
N L
NL
Crimean Republican Oncologic Center, Simferopol, Ukraine.
Soosko
V S
VS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000775:Anesthesia, Spinal / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008012:Lidocaine; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D010636:Phenols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013346:Subarachnoid Space; D013563:Sympathectomy, Chemical; D014288:Trimecaine
D010636:Phenols; D008012:Lidocaine; D014288:Trimecaine