Thyroid and parathyroid surgery performed with patient under regional anesthesia

Thyroid and parathyroid surgery is usually performed with the patient under general anesthesia; however, for selected patients regional anesthesia may be preferable. Between September 1977 and March 1986 regional anesthesia was used successfully as the sole anesthetic technique in 17 patients who underwent thyroid surgery and two patients who underwent parathyroid surgery. Procedures included two total thyroidectomies, 14 lobectomies or lobectomies with isthmusectomies, and one isthmusectomy. These 17 operations represent approximately 5% of the thyroid operations performed by the senior surgeon over the corresponding time. One patient underwent combined completion thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy, and another patient underwent successful parathyroidectomy under regional anesthesia. In two additional patients, procedures could not be completed under regional anesthesia alone. In one of these two patients regional anesthesia appeared to effect a transient recurrent nerve paralysis. The indications for use of regional anesthesia have been primarily patient preference and associated cardiac or pulmonary disease. We now consider as contraindications to regional anesthesia patient apprehension about the technique, deafness, high spinal cord injury, recurrent laryngeal or phrenic nerve palsy, and allergy to local anesthesia. During this period, from 1977 to 1986, our administration of regional anesthesia has evolved from bilateral deep and superficial cervical plexus blocks to bilateral superficial blocks alone using bupivacaine with epinephrine, 1:200,000.