[Anesthesia in ear surgery. A resource economical analysis and patient assessment of general anesthesia versus local anesthesia in ear surgery].

Although it has long been known that surgery on the middle ear may be carried out under local anaesthesia (LA), the majority of ear operations in Denmark are carried out under general anaesthesia (GA). A prospective review is presented of 103 ear operations of which 71 were undertaken under local anaesthesia and 32 under general anaesthesia. Local anaesthesia has considerable advantages as compared with general anaesthesia, particularly that the anaesthetic capacity is released and can be employed for other purposes. Employment of local anaesthesia does not present any disadvantages for the surgeon and the procedure appears to be acceptable for the majority of patients. In order not to bring the procedure into disrepute, patients should be assessed meticulously preoperatively by an experienced surgeon so that operation under local anaesthesia is not performed in unsuitable patients.