Spinal anesthesia vs general anesthesia in the endoscopic management of proximal ureteral stones: A critical evaluation focusing on the total anesthesia time

Introduction: This study was aimed to compare spinal and general anesthesia methods in endoscopic management of proximal ureteral stones with a particular emphasis on total anesthesia time. Methods: A total of 246 adult patients undergoing ureteroscopic management for proximal ureteral stones between January 2021 and March 2023 were enrolled. Two different types of anesthesia namely spinal (Group 1, n=109) and general (Group 2, n=137) anesthesia were applied during these procedures. Results: The mean total anesthesia time of Group 1 was statistically significantly shorter than that of Group 2 (61.4±28.7 and 93.7±29.2 min, respectively, p=0.013). While 92.7% of patients in Group 1 were stone free after the interventions, this value was 92 % in Group 2 (p=0.828). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding peri- (p=0.126) or postoperative (p=0.284) complications. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated well that both spinal and general anesthesia methods could be applied in a successful and safe manner in the endoscopic management of proximal ureteral stones. However, a shorter total anesthesia time under spinal anesthesia could be anticipated during endoscopic management of proximal ureteral stones.