Background: As anti-retroviral therapy has improved and the life expectancy of patients’ with HIV in Korea has increased, an increased number of surgical procedures have been performed in this population. Therefore, in the current study, we investigated the trend in surgery conducted on patients with HIV in our hospital over the last 5 years.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of HIV-infected patients who underwent surgery under general or local anesthesia at our hospital between 2005 and 2010.Results: The total number of surgeries performed in HIV-infected patients in the 5-year period was 95. Of these, 23 (24%) were performed under general anesthesia and 72 (76%) under spinal anesthesia. Anorectal surgery was the most commonly performed surgery (71 cases, 76%). The postoperative complication rate was 5.3% (3 cases of pneumonia and 2 of wound infection), with general anesthesia and time to discharge being identified as contributory factors. Preoperative CD4+ T cell count was not significantly associated with complications.Conclusion: This study was the first to analyze the trends in surgical procedures performed in HIV-infected patients in Korea. Our study may be beneficial as a reference for clinicians who manage patients with HIV.

Keywords: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, HIV, Operation