The effect of the administration of propranolol 0.15 mg per kg body weight i.v. on the metabolic response to pelvic surgery was compared with results in similar patients who had not received propranolol. The only significant difference between the two groups was a lower plasma insulin concentration in the beta-blockade patients after 60 and 90 min of surgery. The glycaemic response to surgery was unimpaired in the propranolol-treated patients and there were no adverse haemodynamic effects. We conclude that beta-adrenergic blockage is unlikely to have deleterious metabolic effects on healthy patients.