Lower extremity nerve blocks.
Lower extremity nerve blocks have not become as popular as upper extremity blocks for anesthesia; however, the use of lower extremity nerve blocks will become more widespread, as teaching programs are now providing more regional anesthesia experiences for their trainees so that the anesthesia provider will have the familiarity to use these blocks. To increase the enthusiasm among our surgical colleagues, we must begin to use these blocks for surgery, and if the block must be supplemented with local anesthetic or a light general anesthetic, we must educate them that the block is not a failure but a success, as it will provide analgesia after surgery in a method of multimodal pain control. Lower extremity nerve blocks will become more popular when it is realized that they are an effective way of increasing operating room efficiency. Because the block may be placed in an induction room, there is no induction or emergence in the operating room. Patients may be discharged without the need for pain medications, thus lowering the incidence of nausea postoperatively and decreasing PACU and discharge times.
Department of General Anesthesiology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, USA. dilgerj@cesmtp.ccf.org
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Dilger
D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000294:innervation*; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*