Introduction: Middle ear surgeries (MES) can be performed under either general anaesthesia or local anesthesia and sedation and can be well tolerated by the patient with minimal discomfort.

Material & Methods: Eighty patients of either sex, aged between 20 and 50 years of ASA Grades I and II, undergoing MESs (tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy) under local anaesthesia were included. Patients in Local Anaesthesia group received a bolus dose of injection dexmedetomidine 1 μg/kg IV over 10 min followed by an infusion started at 0.4 μg/kg/h IV. In patients of General Anaesthesia group inj propofol 1 mg/ kg was given  followed by .1mg/ kg of vecuronium bromide After 2 minutes pts were put on LMA and maintained with oxygen and nitrous oxide in ratio of 1:2 and 0.5 mac of isoflurane throughout the procedure and were switched off on the commencement of skin stitch.

Statistics Hemodynamic data was evaluated using t test for group comparisons. Data not normally distributed was compared using Mann Whitney U test. Categorical data was analyzed using Chi square test. P value less than 0.05 was considered as significant

Result: If patients satisfaction is taken for consideration then general anesthesia technique is preferred over local anesthesia However the middle ear surgery can be performed with any of the methods of anaesthesia.

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Dr Bimal Krushna Panda

Associate Professor, Dept of Anaesthesiology, Vir Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (VIMSAR), India