[Anaesthesia and prostate surgery]

To review the current data about anaesthetic management in prostate surgery with special regards on analysis and prevention of specific risks, appropriate anaesthetic procedure keeping with surgery and patient, recognition and treatment of adverse events.

The Pubmed database was searched for articles (1990-2004) combined with references analysis of major articles on the field.

It is strongly recommended to settle germfree urine in the preoperative period. The thromboembolic risk of radical retropubic prostatectomy for cancer parallels lower abdomen oncologic surgery and is prolonged. Preoperative evaluation of cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological and metabolic comorbidity is a source of prognostic information and an essential tool in the management of elderly patients with prostate disease. Extreme patient positioning applied in prostate surgery induces haemodynamic and respiratory changes and are associated with severe muscular and nervous injuries. The laparoscopic access for radical prostatectomy is a growing alternative to the open surgical procedure. Acute normovolaemic haemodilution is a consistent and cost-effective blood conservation strategy in reducing allogenic blood transfusion for radical retropubic prostatectomy. Whether open transvesical or transurethral prostatectomy for treatment of benign hypertrophy depends on the size of the gland: transurethral resection is safe up to 80 g. Intrathecal anaesthesia with a T9 cephalad spread of sensory block, produces adequate conditions for transurethral prostatectomy and allows a rapid diagnosis of irrigating fluid absorption syndrome. In spite of recommended preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis, bacteriemias are frequent during transurethral prostate resection.