COMPARISON OF EFFICACY OF SPINAL ANAESTHESIA AND SUB- FASCIAL LOCAL ANAESTHETIC INGUINAL FIELD BLOCK FOR OPEN INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR-A SINGLE INSTITUTIONAL EXPERIENCE

The use of local anaesthetic for open inguinal hernia surgery has long been restricted to specialist centres. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of spinal anaesthesia and sub-fascial local anaesthetic (LA) for performing open hernia repair and at the same time provide better post op pain relief and early mobilization. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 62 male patients aged 16-72 were randomly allocated to two groups. Group A received mixture of 20 ml 0.5% bupivacain,20ml 2% lignocaine with adrenaline, 20m normal saline (N/S), 3 ml NaHCO3 sub-fascially for Local-anaesthetic (LA) inguinal field. block, while Group B received Spinal Anaesthesia (SA) with 0.5% Bupivacaine. Comparison was made in terms of Visual Analogue Score (VAS) recorded intra-operatively at 0 and 30 minutes and post operatively at 2, 4 and 12 hours at rest and on movement. Need for rescue analgesia and total analgesic consumption in both groups were calculated. Interval to pain free ambulation as well as procedural and anaesthesia related complications were compared. Results: Mean VAS in the intraoperative period were significantly high in Group A (p-value 0.011) at the start of operation and at 30 minutes (p-value