Obesity and regional anesthesia

Abstract

Obesity is a pathology with increasing incidence worldwide and therefore high prevalence in surgical patients. Depending on its severity and concomitance of other pathologies, it may determine a greater perioperative risk. Peripheral regional anesthesia, especially after the introduction of ultrasound, has revolutionized the analgesic management of multiple procedures. Although logic dictates that obese patients may be particularly favored using blocks by decreasing the requirement for opioids or even avoiding general anesthesia for some surgeries, further research is still required to determine whether the specific technical aspects in different regional techniques require special considerations depending on the patient's adiposity. It is worth noting that in bariatric surgery, although several studies of regional blocks have been published, the high risk of bias in these prevents retaining enough works for an analysis that allows valid conclusions regarding their indication, validation, or specific technical aspects.