Transuretheral resection of prostate (TURP) is a common operation in most hospitals. The patients are elderly and usually have concomitant diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac and respiratory ailments that increase their perioperative risk. Perioperative morbidity and mortality approaches 20% and 1% respectively. Regional anesthesia, notably spinal anesthesia, offers many advantages over general anesthesia for TURP with some evidence of lower morbidity even though similar mortality rates and overall outcomes are reported for both groups. Procedure-specific complications include TURP syndrome, bladder perforation, primary fibrinolysis, bacteremia, and septicemia. All are associated with significant morbidity and mortality but amenable to early and aggressive therapeutic intervention.
