General versus locoregional anesthesia for endovascular aortic aneurysm repair: influences of the type of anesthesia on its outcome.

Of 31 patients who underwent elective endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) in our facility in 2007, 12 underwent EVAR under general anesthesia, and in 19 patients EVAR was done under locoregional anesthesia. In a retrospective analysis of the medical records from these two groups, we observed that locoregional anesthesia for the anesthetic management of EVAR was well tolerated, and it had advantages over general anesthesia with respect to a reduction in the incidence of postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) stay and the duration of the operation. Our single-institutional experience confirms that patients undergoing EVAR are likely to benefit from the use of locoregional anesthesia.