Comparative Study between General Anaesthesia and Epidural Anaesthesia for Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Abstract

aparoscopic cholecystectomy is performed to minimize the postoperative morbidity and early return to work with reduction in overall medical costs, reduced bleeding and less post-operative surgical and pulmonary complications. The gradual shift of laparoscopy to include more complicated surgical procedures resulted in modifications of existing anesthetic techniques. The various effects of induction of pneumoperitoneum, an integral part of laparoscopy, can result in respiratory embarrassment and cardiovascular changes due to the absorption of CO2 and increase in intra-abdominal pressure. This study was planned to compare between general anesthesia and epidural anesthesia as anesthetic technique for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The anesthetic technique needs to meet the goals of providing safe, effective anesthesia, with minimal side effects for the patient, together with inhibition of trauma –induced nociceptive impulses. The study was conducted on 80 randomly chosen patients in Ain Shams University Hospitals after approval of the medical ethical committee. They were allocated in two groups of 40 patients each: Group G: arranged to recieve general anesthesia with induction with propofol (2–3 mg/kg), fentanyl citrate