[A retrospective study in spinal anesthesia for sumo-wrestlers].
BACKGROUND
Spinal anesthesia for the Sumo-wrestler is thought to be difficult because of following reasons. 1. Sumo-wrestlers are so fatty and weighty that piercing spinal needle into the subarachnoid space is technically difficult. 2. The relationship between volume of local anesthetics and attained spinal anesthesia level is difficult to detect. 3. Upper airway can be easily obstructed during sedation.


METHODS
Retrospectively, we compared 30 Sumo-wrestler patients (group S) with normal body weight patients (group N) concerning 17 items.


RESULTS
While all patients in group N were approached from L 3 and L 4 interspinal space using 25 gauge spinal needles, 13 patients in group S were approached from another interspinal space, for example L 2 and L 3 or L 4 and L 5 and 40% of patients in group S needed 23 gauge spinal needles. The time intervals from the entrance into the operating room till the end of intrathecal administration of local anesthetics in group S and group N were 34 and 24 minutes, respectively (P < 0.05). The distances from the surface of the skin to subarachnoid space in group S and group N were 80 mm and 49 mm, respectively (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that subarachnoid puncture in Sumo-wrestler patients is difficult and we should understand the specificities of spinal anesthesia for these patients.
Hariya
Shin
S
Department of Anesthesiology, Nihon University, School of Medicine, Tokyo 101-8309.
Nonaka
Hiroko
H
Kakishita
Michiko
M
Fukano
Naoko
N
Noda
Kaoru
K
Noda
Yoshikazu
Y
Saeki
Shigeru
S
Ogawa
Setsurou
S
D000328:Adult; D000775:Anesthesia, Spinal / Q000379:methods*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D001182:Arthroscopy; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013129:Spinal Puncture; D013346:Subarachnoid Space; D014952:Wrestling
D000779:Anesthetics, Local