Peribulbar vs. incisionless sub-Tenon's blocks: a retrospective cohort study

Ophthalmic procedures are increasingly being performed under regional anesthesia techniques such as peribulbar and incisionless sub-Tenon’s blocks. The aim is to compare peribulbar block with incisionless sub-Tenon’s block in terms of perioperative complications in patients who underwent cataract and vitreoretinal surgeries.

The patients who underwent cataract or vitroretinal surgery under peribulbar block or incisionless sub-Tenon’s block were included in the study. Two groups were compared each other in terms of anesthesia-related complications.

A total of 125 patients [peribulbar block (N = 48) and incisionless sub-Tenon’s block (N = 77)] were included in the study. All basic characteristics and perioperative hemodynamic parameters were similar between the groups. One (0.8%) patient in the peribulbar block developed retrobulbar hemorrhage, whereas there was no major complication in the incisionless sub-Tenon’s group (P = 0.389). At 15th minutes after block and at the end of the operation, minor complications including chemosis and subconjunctival hemorrhage were observed significantly lower in the peribulbar block group in comparison to the incisionless sub-Tenon’s block group (P < 0.05).

Minor complications including subconjunctival haemorrhage and chemosis were more common in the incisionless sub-Tenon’s block; however, this difference was statistically balanced on the first postoperative day. One patient in the peribulbar block developed retrobulbar hemorrhage, whereas there was no major complication in the incisionless sub-Tenon’s block. According to those results, incisionless sub-Tenon’s block seems to be a safe and reliable alternative for ophthalmic procedures.