Spinal Anesthesia in Pediatric Patients

August Bier, in 1898, first reported the successful use of spinal anesthesia (SA) in an 11-year-old child for surgery on a thigh tumor. Following this, Bainbridge (1901), Tyrell Gray (1909), Berkowitz and Greene (1950) described SA as an excellent alternative to general anesthesia (GA) in children including thoracic surgeries (lobectomy, pneumonectomy). Spinal anesthesia was an innovative and popular technique in pediatric anesthesia in the first half of 1900, but then its use decreased significantly due to developments in general endotracheal anesthesia along with lack of expertise for SA (fear of adverse effects, lack of patient co-operation).