Advances in Orthopedics and Traumatology (Shoulder and Elbow Surgery) and Knowing the Optimal Type of Anesthesia Used in Surgery

Abstract

Background: Anesthesia techniques have played an important and effective role in the management of shoulder and elbow surgeries, which enhances the patient's health after the operation. Objective: This paper analysed and assessed the outcomes associated with the effect of anesthesia on patients undergoing orthopedics and traumatology in terms of shoulder and elbow Surgery. Patients and methods: In different hospitals in Iraq for a period between July 7, 2022, to March 24, 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted for patients who underwent orthopedic and fracture surgery, and samples of 130 patients between the ages of 30 and 60 years were collected. This study distributed data related to both groups, which determined that the first group included patients who underwent surgery under general anesthesia with 70 patients, and the second group included patients who underwent surgery under local anesthesia with 60 patients. Our data identified the two surgeries that patients underwent, which included both shoulder surgery and elbow surgery, during and after surgery in terms of the time of the two surgeries, the estimated rate of blood loss, the number of cases that lost blood, and the mortality rate. Results: Our results found the operating time for shoulder surgery which was between 3 - 4 hours, and for elbow surgery, which was between (50 - 60) minutes, and the number of patients who lost blood was 11, with an amount of 119.76 ± 14.20 ml in the first group with an amount of 171.56 ± 16.51 ml in the second group. 51 ml in the second group, the length of hospital stay was between (2-3) days for patients who underwent general anaesthesia and (2-3) days for elbow surgery, and the mortality rate was three patients in the general anaesthesia group and five patients in the regional anaesthesia group, the recovery rate was 2-3 weeks for shoulder surgery and 5-6 weeks for regional anaesthesia. The complication rate was seven patients in the general anaesthesia group and ten patients in the regional anaesthesia group. The patient's quality of life scores for physical function were 82.80±12.9 under general anaesthesia and 71.47±8.54 under regional anaesthesia, and for a social function, were 88.53±2.46 under general anaesthesia and 86.65±2.07 under regional anaesthesia. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that general anesthesia has a crucial role in improving patient outcomes, recovery rates, and patient complications compared to regional anesthesia after both shoulder and elbow surgery.