Patients requiring radical prostatectomy (rPE), including retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy are often aged and have coexisting cardiopulmonary diseases, increasing the risk of perioperative complications. The aim of the present study was to evaluate our perioperative anaesthesiologic regimen over the last five years, in terms of safety and patients comfort. Records of 433 patients who underwent rPE between 1994 and 1999 in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided in those who received: 1. general anaesthesia (GA) alone, 2. a combination of lumbar epidural anaesthesia (LEA) + GA or, 3. thoracic epidural anaesthesia (TEA) + GA. General anaesthesia was performed as balanced anaesthesia, and epidural administered local anaesthetics were bupivacaine 0.25% or ropivacaine 0.2%, 8-12 ml/h. In terms of intra- and postoperative numbers of tachycardiac and hypertensive episodes, a reduced stress response was observed under epidural anaesthesia (EA). Moreover, the weaning duration was shorter under EA and onset of gastrointestinal motility was found earlier ([h] GA: 50.6 +/- 11.1/LEA: 39.3 +/- 13.6/TEA: 33.8 +/- 13.0). Furthermore, a trend to rarer phases of postoperative vomiting and a significant decrease of in hospital stay of about one day ([d] GA: 12.4 +/- 5.8/LEA: 11.1 +/- 3.1/TEA: 11.5 +/- 3.8) was observed. The duration of personnel binding in the OR did not differ significantly between GA and TEA ([min] GA: 222.9 +/- 43.5/LEA: 238.2 +/- 41.8/TEA: 227.0 +/- 46.2), but ICU stay was shortened under TEA. Besides this, TEA reduced the number of pathologic postoperative thorax-x-rays. Senso-motor blockades, decreases of SaO2 and cardiac complications were experienced more frequent under LEA as compared with TEA. Combination of GA and EA, especially TEA, appears to improve perioperative care of patients undergoing rPE, in terms of patients safety and comfort.