[Comparison of the effect of 0.75% bupivacaine with 0.75% bupivacaine/2% mepivacaine in retrobulbar anesthesia and the effect of adding hyaluronidase].

For about 100 years retrobulbar injection of a local anesthetic has been regarded as being a safe, efficient anesthesia in cataract surgery. Today one of the most difficult steps in cataract surgery is the implantation of the IOL. Vis à tergo can lead to severe problems during this procedure. Therefore, the position of the iris (concave or convex) is an important result that depends on the quality of the block. Motor blockade and analgesia were also examined. The first investigation was done to answer the question of whether or not better results could be obtained by using a mixture of bupivacaine (0.75%) and mepicacaine (2%) or with bupivacaine alone. Injections were done observer-blind in all cases by the same operator. Pure bupivacaine provided the best anesthesia results. A second examination was done in the same way to measure the effects of the addition of hyaluronidase; motor blockade, analgesia und hypotonia of the globe were found to be significantly better with the addition of 75 IU of hyaluronidase.