A comparison of peribulbar and retrobulbar anesthesia for vitreoretinal surgical procedures
O. M. Demediuk, R. S. Dhaliwal, D. P. Papworth, R. G. Devenyi and D. T. Wong
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Toronto (Ontario) Faculty of Medicine, Canada.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthetic
techniques for vitreoretinal surgical procedures. DESIGN: Prospective,
randomized, double-blind study. SETTING: A large university teaching
hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixteen consecutive patients who were
scheduled for vitreoretinal surgical procedures. METHODS: Patients who were
undergoing vitreoretinal surgical procedures were divided into four
separate groups, depending on the type of surgical procedure planned. Equal
numbers of patients in each group of patients who were undergoing a
surgical procedure were randomly assigned to either the retrobulbar or
peribulbar block-treated group. Anesthesia, akinesia, need for block
supplementation, and patient acceptance were measured. RESULTS: Both
retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthetic techniques provided equal levels of
akinesia and analgesia, with each requiring intraoperative supplementation
in 32%. CONCLUSION: Peribulbar block can be expeditiously and efficiently
used for a full range of vitreoretinal surgical procedures.
