Background and Objectives This study was undertaken to determine whether preoperative spinal anesthesia with local anesthetics would exert a pre-emptive effect on postoperative analgesia by reducing neural afferent stimulation.

Methods The authors studied 38 healthy women undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy. Patients were randomly allocated to two groups: group A received a spinal block (T3-S5) prior to induction of anesthesia and surgery, while in group B the block was performed after surgery prior to extubation of the trachea. Patient-controlled analgesia morphine was administered to both groups during the first 24 postoperative hours.

Results Pain and sedation scores at 6, 12, and 24 hours were similar in the two groups. Cumulative morphine consumption at 6 and 24 hours after surgery was similar in both groups; however at 12 hours more morphine was needed in group A (P < .02).

Conclusions The authors were unable to demonstrate that spinal block with bupivacaine before surgery, as opposed to after surgery, decreased the requirement of morphine in the postoperative period.