Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Surgery in patients with schistosomal liver disease is usually associated with high risks of morbidity and mortality. Bilateral paravertebral block (BPVB) has been advocated as a useful technique for ventral abdominal hernias' repairs.

AIM OF THE STUDY:

To compare the efficacy of BPVB with general anesthesia (GA) for anterior abdominal wall hernias in advanced schistosomal liver disease patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Sixty patients were randomly allocated into two groups to receive either GA or BPVB. Variables were hospital stay, hemodynamic stability, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONY), postoperative pain measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS) with assessment of the hepatic cell integrity using glutathione S transferase alpha (GSTA) and other liver enzymes.

RESULTS:

The main significant finding was an apparently significant shorter length of hospital stay following BPVB as compared with GA in patients (P 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS:

BPVB was superior to GA following abdominal ventral hernia repair in schistosomal liver fibrosis patients.