local anesthesia in vitreoretinal surgery

purpose: to compare general anesthesia (ga) with local anesthesia (la) in terms of safety and patient satisfaction. methods: in this interventional case series, 928 consecutive patients who underwent vitreoretinal surgery were included. data for analysis were type of anesthesia and operation, patient compliance, operating conditions and pain scores. general anesthesia was provided with a standard method and local anesthesia was performed through peribulbar or retrobulbar routes. selection of the type of anesthesia was determined by patient age and co-morbidities based on the surgeon's opinion. results: patients were operated under local anesthesia in 343 (36.9%) and general anesthesia in 585 (63.1%) cases. mean age was 68.8±7.3 (range 51-78) years in the la group and 55.9±6.5 (range 43-70) years in the ga group (p= 0.041). asa (american society of anesthetics) physical status score in the la group was higher than ga group. patients were in appropriate condition in 96.4% and operating conditions were good or excellent in 98.8%. the majority of patients (97%) said they would choose local anesthesia for their next vitreoretinal procedures. conclusion: local anesthesia is a useful and flexible method of anesthesia for vitreoretinal surgery, with excellent patient tolerance, especially in old patients and those who suffer from concurrent diseases