Annals of surgery
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Comparative Study
Thoracic epidural anesthesia improves outcome after breast surgery.
The authors' objective was to compare the outcomes, including the incidence of nausea and vomiting and the time until discharge to home, of patients undergoing general anesthesia and thoracic epidural anesthesia for oncologic breast procedures. ⋯ Thoracic epidural anesthesia is a safe technique not associated with neurologic or respiratory complications. The use of thoracic epidural anesthesia for breast surgery could improve patients recovery and reduce the cost of these procedures.