[Spinal anaesthesia in 50 patients with previous lumbar spinal surgery].

In anaesthesia textbooks, spinal anaesthesia is described as relatively contraindicated in patients with a history of lumbar spinal surgery. In order to assess the feasibility of spinal anaesthesia in these patients, we performed 56 spinal anaesthetics in 50 consecutive patients with previous lumbar spinal surgery. Our success rate of spinal anaesthesia was 100 %. Side effects were only minor and had a low incidence. We conclude that spinal anaesthesia is a viable technique in these patients.