Ela Erten, Umut Kara, Büşra Eroğlu, Rovshan Aliyev, Mehmet Anıl Süzer, Mehmet Özgür Özhan, Seyyid Furkan Kına
Kastamonu Medical Journal - 2025;5(4):238-242
Aims: Regional anesthesia plays a crucial role in enhancing patient comfort, safety, and postoperative recovery in modern surgical procedures. In elective surgeries, the choice between regional anesthesia and general anesthesia is based on patient expectations, surgical requirements, and perioperative outcomes. This study aimed to examine the awareness and perspectives of patients undergoing surgical procedures under regional anesthesia or general anesthesia about regional anesthesia. Additionally, one of the objectives of this study is to identify the reasons why patients prefer or reject regional anesthesia. Finally, the study aimed to evaluate whether there is any change in patients' opinions after the operation. Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Turkiye, and 305 patients undergoing elective surgery were included. The study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to patients after the anesthesiologist provided information about anesthesia methods during the preoperative visit. The questionnaire consists of 3 main parts. The first and second parts of the questionnaire consisted of demographic data and preoperative anesthesia preferences and reasons. In contrast, the last part consisted of questions asked in the postoperative period about satisfaction levels and the anesthesia method they would prefer if they needed surgery again. Results: The results showed that 83.6% of the patients preferred regional anesthesia, and 16.4% preferred general anesthesia. The anesthesia preferences of patients were not affected by factors such as age, gender, educational status, ASA score, or the clinic where the operation would be performed. While the postoperative satisfaction scores of patients operated with regional anesthesia were significantly higher than those of the general anesthesia group (p=0.042), the pain levels were significantly lower (p<0.001). However, most of the patients stated that they would prefer general anesthesia if the same surgical procedure were performed again (p<0.01). Conclusion: As a result, this study demonstrates that surgeons play a significant role in influencing patients' anesthesia preferences in Turkiye. We believe that more surgeries will be performed under regional anesthesia if patients are better informed about regional anesthesia and surgeons' prejudices are overcome.
