Thyroid surgery under local anaesthesia: an alternative to general anaesthesia

Background: Local Anaesthesia is now being accepted universally as a safe alternative to general anaesthesia for thyroid surgery.
Aim: This study was carried out to compare the outcomes of patients undergoing thyroid surgery under local and general anaesthesia.
Material and Methods: Hundred patients who underwent thyroid surgery for benign and malignant diseases under local and general anaesthesia from January 1996 and September 2003 were analysed. Patient characteristics analysed were age, sex, pathology lesion size, operating time, length of stay, cost and post operative complications.
Results: Mean lesion sizes were 5.26 cms. and 6.33 cms. in local and general anaesthesia group respectively. Mean operating time was 41.6 minutes and 74.5 minutes in local anaesthesia and general anaesthesia group respectively. Mean cost incurred was Rs.2189.32 in local anaesthesia and Rs.5520.00 in general anaesthesia group. Mean length of hospital stay was 39.26 hours and 71.06 hours in local anaesthesia and general anaesthesia group respectively. Conclusion: Local anaesthesia is a safe alternative to general anaesthesia for patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Use of local anaesthesia has resulted in a decreased length of stay, cost and mean operating time, hence useful in a setup with limited anaesthesia time and increased work load.