Debate on use of spinal anesthesia in obstetrics: spinal anesthesia has definite indications in obstetrics.

Spinal anesthesia has the advantages of speed of onset, reliability and lack of toxicity over lumbar epidural block. Against this must be offset several disadvantages, but these can be largely eliminated by careful choice of equipment and meticulous attention to details of technique. Only experienced obstetric anesthetists should perform spinal anesthesia, especially for Caesarean section. Given these conditions, spinal block has a most important part to play in obstetric anesthesia.