Surgical treatment of anal fissures under local anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate lateral sphincterotomy under a mixture of local anesthesia versus general anesthesia in the treatment of anal fissures.

METHODS

A randomized clinical trial of 62 consecutive patients requiring lateral sphincterotomy was carried out at Princess Haya Al-Hussein Hospital in Jordan. One group underwent lateral sphincterotomy under general anesthesia, while the 2nd group had topical anesthetic cream (xylocaine 2%) applied followed by local anesthesia.

RESULTS

There were no differences between the 2 groups in terms of operating time, postoperative pain, nausea or vomiting, pain-free interval after operation, analgesia requirements or patients satisfaction with the method of anesthesia.

CONCLUSIONS

Topical anesthetics and local anesthesia can be used effectively for lateral sphincterotomy and provides an alternative to general anesthesia.