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A N E S T H E S I A
I
remember one of my first experiences with nerve blocks, working a
case in which the patient — a veteran who was a bilateral amputee
— was undergoing the latest in a series of surgeries. I was skeptical
at first, thinking we'd need to administer a lot of post-op narcotics. But
the patient emerged from the OR, awake and aware, and not burdened
with pain.
That case was a real eye-opener for me. Until then, I didn't fully
appreciate how versatile and effective regional anesthesia can be.
What I've found to be true in the years since is that peripheral nerve
blocks are an ideal choice of anesthetic for more cases than you might
think (see "Who Benefits From Nerve Blocks?").
When you consider how peripheral nerve blocks and continuous
local anesthetic infusion can benefit your patients, it's easy to see
why. It's well-known that regional anesthesia improves the quality of
patient care in a number of ways: fewer side effects, faster recovery
time, and — most important to our patients — dramatically reduced
post-surgical pain.
Whom can you block?
Regional anesthesia's true believers advocate for every, or almost
every, surgery patient to receive a block. If you're working with a forward-thinking anesthesia group, you have a lot of options. It's
arguably the best method of pain control for orthopedic cases, and
even breast cases such as mastectomies and augmentations.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | N O V E M B E R 2012
