Patient-perceived outcomes of different anaesthetic techniques in classical surgical treatment of varicose veins of lower limbs.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the effects of spinal or locoregional anaesthesia versus local tumescent anesthesia during traditional surgical treatment of saphenous reflux, in terms of pain and postoperative functional recovery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January to December 2014, 195 consecutive interventions of stripping of the greater saphenous vein for valvular incompetence were performed. In 114 cases spinal or locoregional anaesthesia was performed (group 1), in the remaining 81 cases local anaesthesia with the tumescence technique was carried out (group 2). All patients underwent an assessment of perceived pain by means of verbal rating scale before and at the end of surgery, at discharge and after a month. The times of recovery of ambulation during hospital stay and at the discharge were recorded and use of analgesic drugs during hospitalization and at home. At the end of the study, patients were asked to express their approval rating on the type of anaesthesia. RESULTS: Patients in group 2 experienced mild to moderate intraoperative pain more frequently than patients in group 1 (p<0.001), while patients in group 1 had more mild adverse anaesthesia-related events than patients in group 2. Patients in group 2 had faster recovery of ambulation and earlier discharge than patients in group 1.Thirty-day results were similar in the two groups; however, patients in group 2 had a higher degree of satisfaction than patients in group 1 with regard to the type of anaesthesia (p<0.001) CONCLUSIONS: Both locoregional and local tumescent anaesthesia are effective and well accepted by the patients, with similar intra-hospital and 30-day results. KEY WORDS: Great Saphenous Vein, Local tumescent anaesthesia, Pain, Stripping.