title: [Locoregional anesthesia in inguinal hernia surgery].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is a current opinion that local anesthesia (LA) is the primary choice in surgical treatment of the inguinal region, particularly herniorrhaphy. The LA technique personally used for herniorrhaphy is described: it consists of iliohypogastric, ilioinguinal and genito-femoral nerve blocks, and incision line anesthetic infiltration.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 1998 to April 1999, 95 patients underwent inguinal herniorrhaphy employing LA: 77 (81%) in elective surgery, 18 (19%) in emergency; 2 cases with bilateral hernia (97 total LA procedures).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Partial success was obtained in only 8 cases (8.4%), which required an association with a hypnotic drug ("blended anesthesia": propofol or midazolam): there were no cases of conversion to general anesthesia. Specific complications of local anesthetic drugs infiltration developed in 8 cases on 97 LA procedures (8.2%), but none required reoperation: 6 inguinal hematomas, 1 female external genitalia hematoma, 1 hematocele.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, it is stressed that LA is the technique of choice in herniorrhaphy and surgery of other inguinal pathologies, associating high success rates, rare complications and rapid dismissal: this allows for easy management of the patients and a very important reduction of sanitary costs. The association of LA-hypnotic drugs (blended anesthesia) represents another important resource, since it avoids general anesthesia in many cases and allows a rapid psychophysical recovery.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Chirurgia Generale e Specialità Chirurgiche, Università degli Studi, Siena.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coratti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Martino
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Criscuolo
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pede
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Testi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belcastro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ranalli
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Fei
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caloni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coratti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mancini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged