[Spinal anesthesia with 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine for a patient with alcoholic cardiomyopathy].

A 69-year-old male patient with alcoholic cardiomyopathy was scheduled for inguinal herniorrhaphy. Spinal anesthesia was performed with 1.5 ml of 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine at the L 2-3 interspace. The analgesic levels were at the eighth thoracic 15 minutes after injection and the fifth thoracic dermatome at the end of the operation, respectively. The hemodynamic status was stable during operation and his postoperative course was uneventful. This case suggests that spinal anesthesia with 0.5% isobaric bupivacaine is useful for inguinal herniorrhaphy in the patient with alcoholic cardiomyopathy.