An analgesic regimen starting before surgery-induced tissue trauma may reduce postoperative pain if the regimen is efficacious enough to achieve a complete afferent transmission blockade. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether sub-Tenon anesthesia may preempt pain after retinal detachment surgery. Forty patients, aged > 18 years, scheduled for the aforementioned surgical procedure under general anesthesia, were randomly assigned to receive either local anesthetic mixture or saline placebo for sub-Tenon anesthesia before surgical incision. The pain scores measured using numerical rating scale ranged 0-10, the number of patients requiring additional postoperative analgesia as well as total analgesic consumption were significantly reduced in the first 24 postoperative hours in the sub-Tenon group compared with the placebo one. Intraoperative fentanyl consumption and incidence of oculocardiac reflex were also markedly lower in the sub-Tenon group. The results of our study demonstrate that preincisional administration of sub-Tenon block preempts pain after retinal detachment surgery under general anesthesia.

anesthesia; sub-Tenon; analgesia; preemptive; surgery; retinal detachment