Ramesan Chayampurath1, Priya Radhakrishnan2, Indu Suseela3, Shyam Krishnan4, Sasi M. P5
BACKGROUND
The incidence of breast cancer is on the rise in developing countries. Though, there have been significant advances in general
anaesthesia, surgery in elderly and those with comorbid illness still have an attendant morbidity and mortality. After the
introduction of local anaesthesia by Kolher in 1884 and in spite of steady refinement, local anaesthesia is still not being widely
used in major general surgical procedures.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was conducted in Government Medical College, Calicut, a tertiary care centre in Kerala. The outcome of Modified
Radical Mastectomy performed under Local Anaesthesia (LA) and dexmedetomidine infusion was compared to similar cases
done under General Anaesthesia (GA).
RESULTS
Rapid recovery from sedation leading to early restoration of normal physical activity was observed in the LA group when
compared to GA group. Early initiation of oral feeds was possible in the former group as Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting
(PONV) was significantly less. Effective postoperative pain relief and significant reduction in respiratory complications was
observed in the LA group compared to GA group.
CONCLUSION
Modified Radical Mastectomy under LA and procedural sedation with dexmedetomidine was significantly better in selected cases
when compared to similar cases done under GA with respect to early recovery pain relief and decreased incidence of respiratory
complications.
