Efficacy Of Local Anaesthesia In Repair Of Inguinal Hernia.

BACKGROUND

Local anaesthesia has been identified as the most favourable anaesthesia for elective inguinal hernia repair with respect to complication rate, cost effectiveness and overall patients' satisfaction. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of local anaesthesia in inguinal hernia in terms of pain relief, wound infection and hospital stay.

METHODS

In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), 60 patients with inguinal hernia were included at the General Surgical 'B' Unit, Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad.

RESULTS

The day-case rates were significantly higher when patients underwent surgery under LA compared to GA (82.6% versus 42.6%). The incidence of urinary retention was higher in the GA group (p<0.05). There were 17 (2.9%) re-admissions overall. The reasons for readmission included haematoma (n=6), severe pain (n=4), infection (n=3), fainting (n=2) and urinary retention (n=2).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that local anaesthesia for inguinal hernia repair has better efficacy as compared to general anaesthesia.