Sacrospinous Ligament Fixation Under Local Anesthesia in Elderly Patients at High Risk of General Anesthesia

Abstract

Introduction and Hypothesis: Sacrospinous ligament fixation(SSLF) is a commonly used surgical procedure in pelvic organ prolapse due to high treatment success rates. Many intraoperative and postoperative anesthesia-related obstacles may be encountered by the elderly population. Local anesthesia alone or with intravenous sedation may provide simple, cheap, and safe anesthesia. For elderly patients at high risk for general anesthesia according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists(ASA), it is better to operate through the vaginal route under local anesthesia. To perform minimal invasive SSLF surgery, the Pelvic Floor Repair Tissue Fixing Anchor, which is a target-specific system, can be used. In this prospective observational study, evaluation was made of elderly patients who underwent SSLF under local anesthesia. Materials and Methods: The study included 11 patients evaluated as high risk for general and regional anesthesia who underwent SSLF under local anesthesia as pelvic organ prolapse surgery. All operations were performed by a single experienced surgeon using 1% lidocaine infiltration and the Pelvic Floor Repair Tissue Fixing Anchor system. Results: The mean age of the patients was 69.6 years. Stage IV prolapse was determined in 7 (63.6%) patients, 4 (36.3%) had a history of hysterectomy, 5 (45.4%) were classified as ASA 3, and 6 (54.6%) as ASA 4. No complications occurred and patients were followed up for 24 months. In two patients, recurrence of POP was observed at postoperative 8 and 10 months, respectively. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated the surgical and anesthetic safety of SSLF under local anesthesia for pelvic organ prolapse in elderly patients.