Background and objective: Unilateral paravertebral nerve blockade has been reported to produce excellent afferent nerve block, reduce the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and reduce hospital stay following inguinal hernia repair. The aim was to compare the use of bilateral paravertebral blocks to regular general anaesthesia for ventral hernia repair.

Methods: Sixty patients were prospectively allocated to receive either bilateral paravertebral nerve blockade (midazolam for block; supplemented with light intraoperative sedation if needed) or general anaesthesia for ventral hernia repair. The end-points of the study were length of hospital stay, postoperative analgesia (visual analogue scale, supplemental opioid requirement) and incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Results: The duration of hospital stay was observed to be shorter in patients handled with bilateral paravertebral nerve blockade (2.3 [SD 1.3] days) compared with patients receiving general anaesthesia (4.1 (3.0) days). Paravertebral analgesia resulted in both lower visual analogue scores and a significantly reduced need for supplemental opioid administration during the first 48 h postoperatively compared with general anaesthesia (P < 0.001). The rate of postoperative nausea and vomiting in the paravertebral nerve blockade group was only 3.3%, while 26.7% of patients in the general anaesthesia group suffered from postoperative nausea and vomiting (P < 0.05). Paravertebral nerve blockade was associated with good patient acceptance in 90% of patients.

Conclusions: Bilateral paravertebral blockade combined with light intravenous sedation was superior to general anaesthesia for ventral hernia repair. Paravertebral blockade was associated with shorter hospital stay, improved analgesia and less postoperative nausea and vomiting. It is suggested that this technique deserves more widespread use in patients undergoing ventral hernia repair.