The metabolic and hormonal response to cataract surgery. A comparison between retrobulbar and peribulbar blockade

We studied the metabolic and hormonal responses of 30 elderly patients undergoing routine cataract surgery who were allocated randomly to receive either general anaesthesia, or local anaesthesia by means of either retrobulbar or peribulbar blockade. Both forms of local anaesthesia successfully prevented the increases in circulating cortisol and glucose concentrations seen in those patients who received general anaesthesia, there being no significant differences between retrobulbar and peribulbar blockade. The results show that the newer, and now more commonly performed peribulbar block, confers the same metabolic and hormonal stability as seen with the more traditional retrobulbar block.