PURPOSE:Anorectal surgery has been increasingly performed as an ambulatory procedure using general, regional, and local anesthesia. Local anesthesia is classically performed through infiltration of four quadrants around the anal verge, which renders the procedure painful and uncomfortable for most surgeons and patients. We present a new, painless technique of local anesthesia for anorectal surgery.METHODS:Patients with surgical risk Classes I and II (American Society of Anesthesiologists) bearing anorectal pathologies were sedated and placed on the operating table in the prone jackknife position. After local antisepsis, the anal canal was lubricated with 2 percent lidocaine gel, and the mucosa was punctured by a hook‐shaped, curved, 22‐gauge needle just above the pectinate line. A solution of local anesthetics was slowly infused in all four quadrants to the submucosal level. If needed, more anesthetics were infused during the operation.RESULTS:This technique was easily and painlessly applied in more than 60 patients and permitted execution of several ambulatory anorectal procedures with comfort and safety.CONCLUSIONS:The hookneedle puncture for local anesthesia is an effective and safe procedure and may be routinely used for ambulatory anorectal surgery in selected patients.