Long duration subarachnoid anaesthesia with continuous epidural block.

UNLABELLED: A method of spinal anaesthesia with Dixidextracaine-70 (a mixture of xylocaine 40.0 mg + percaine, 10.0 mg+ Dextran-70, 60,0 mg+ distiled water ad 2.0 ml) with continuous epidural block has been tested in 150 patients. The advantages of this association are: the possibility of obtaining a high quality conduction anaesthesia, virtually unlimited in time, the ability to extend over several anatomical regions the surgical field, minimal toxicity, the absence of postoperative pulmonary complications, and the economy. Drawbacks are: the need for two vertebral punctures, the longer induction time of anaesthesia and some difficulty in finding the subarachnoid space after catheterisation of the epidural space. The indications of the method include subdiaphragmatic surgery, interventions on more than one anatomical region, surgery in aging patients, patients with full stomach, and those with anaesthetic and surgical risk, as well as socioeconomic factors which may prevent application of a differentiated and safe narcosis. CONTRAINDICATIONS: those of subarachnoid and epidural block. The incidents and accidents are minimal and specific to both techniques. The fear of producing total subarachnoid anaesthesia by injection of the anaesthetic solution in the epidural space after puncture of the subarachnoid space is virtually unfounded.