Lumbar Spine Surgery: Regional vs. General Anaesthesia

Background: Lumbar spine surgery can be performed using different anaesthetic techniques such as general endotracheal anaesthesia (GA) or spinal-based regional anaesthesia (RA), that have different side effect profiles (e.g. opioids - nausea, vomiting, pruritus, sedation; local anaesthetics - motor weakness) which may affect quality of recovery in different ways. Aim of the study: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of GA and RA in lumbar spine surgery on clinical outcome, combining validated patient-reporting instruments and morbidity such as serious adverse events. Hypothesis: The investigators hypothesize that in patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery, RA shows significant advantages as compared to GA with respect to the postoperative pain score, the degree of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), the postoperative anaesthetic care unit (PACU) and anaesthesia time and the satisfaction of patients and surgeons. Design of the study: This is a single-centre two-arm randomised-controlled trail.