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Updated: Jul 23 2026

General and Regional Anesthesia in Orthopaedics

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  • Anesthesia
    • Components of anesthesia
      • amnesia
      • anxiolysis
      • analgesia
      • akinesia
      • attenuation of autonomic repsonses to noxious stimuli
  • Local Anesthesia - Upper Extremity
    • Interscalene regional block
      • indications
        • commonly used for shoulder/upper arm/elbow surgery
      • technique
        • performed by injecting local anesthetic to the nerves of the brachial plexus as it passes through the groove between the anterior and middle scalene muscles at the level of the cricoid cartilage
      • complications
        • sensory neuropathy is most common complication
    • Supraclavicular block
      • indications
        • ideal for operations involving the arm and forearm, from the lower humerus down to the hand.
      • technique
        • targets brachial plexus superior to the clavicle
      • complications
        • nerve injury and intravascular injection
        • pneumothorax, dyspnea damage to the subclavian artery
    • Infraclavicular block
      • indications
        • ideal for operations involving the arm and forearm, from the lower humerus down to the hand.
      • technique
        • targets brachial plexus inferior to the clavicle
    • Axillary block
      • indications
        • postoperative analgesia for surgery to the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand
    • Bier block
      • indications
        • short (< 60 mins) operative procedures (i.e., carpal tunnel release) in the hand and forearm
      • technique
        • Esmarch exsanguination and tourniquet inflation
        • inject lidocaine through a small, distal (hand) intravenous catheter on the surgical side
        • deflate tourniquet after a minimum of 30 minutes to avoid venous release of local anesthetic and potential local anesthetic systemtic toxicity (LAST)
  • Local Anesthesia - Spinal
    • Spinal
      • technique
        • a single injection with a small 24 or 27-gauge needle
        • combination of morphine and bupivacain is often used
      • complications
        • spinal headache (decreased with small gauge needle), hematoma and opioid side effects (nausea, vomiting, purities, respiratory depression)
    • Epidural
      • indication
        • often used for knee and hip arthroplasty
      • technique
        • similar to spinal anesthesia, except an indwelling catheter is placed
        • combination of opioid and local anesthetic
      • complications
        • postoperative hypotension and motor impairment
        • spinal headache, hematoma and opioid side effects (nausea, vomiting, pruritus, respiratory depression)
    • Combined spinal epidural
      • indications
        • often used for knee and hip arthroplasty
      • technique
        • an epidural needle is placed into the epidural space and spinal anesthesia is administered through a spinal needle followed by placing an epidural catheter
      • complications
        • postoperative hypotension and motor impairment
        • spinal headache, hematoma and opioid side effects (nausea, vomiting, purities, respiratory depression)
  • Local Anesthesia - Lower Extremity
    • Lumbar plexus/ psoas compartment nerve block
      • indications
        • surgeries involving the hip, anterior thigh and knee
        • a sciatic block can be given concomitantly to provide pain relief to the entire lower extremity
      • technique
        • targets the lumbar plexus (L1 to L4 spinal nerves) which form the obturator nerve, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, and femoral nerve
        • the injection is usually placed 3-5 cm lateral to the spinous process of L4 and is often guided by ultrasound and nerve stimulators
      • complications
        • nerve damage and intravascular injection
        • epidural diffusion, retroperitoneal hematomas, intrathecal injections and an increased risk of falls
    • Posterior quadratus lumborum block
      • indications
        • surgeries involving the hip
      • technique
        • ultrasound-guided injection posterior to QL muscle
        • local anesthetic spreads through thoracolumbar fascia
      • complications
        • technically difficult due to deep anatomy
        • potential motor blockade with psoas penetration
    • Fascia iliaca compartment block 
      • indications
        • surgeries involving the hip, anterior thigh, and knee
        • has been shown to significantly decrease the risk of postoperative delirium following geriatric hip fracture surgery
      • technique
        • targets the femoral, obturator, and lateral femoral cutaneous nerves
        • 1 cm caudal to a point dividing the lateral 1/3 and medial 2/3 of a line extending from the pubic tubercle to the ASIS often guided by ultrasound 
      • complications
        • local hematoma, nerve damage, or intravascular injection
    • Femoral nerve block
      • indications
        • surgeries around the knee
        • concomitant sciatic nerve block can be done to increase analgesia around the knee
      • technique
        • targets the femoral nerve (L2-L4)
        • the injection occurs just lateral to the femoral artery and on a line connecting the anterior superior iliac spine to the pubic symphysis
      • complications
        • nerve damage and intravascular injection
    • Sciatic nerve block
      • indications
        • surgeries involving the leg, ankle and foot
        • can be combined with the femoral or lumbar plexus block to provide analgesia to the entire lower extremity
    • Obturator nerve block
      • indications
        • adductor muscle spasm, severe hip pain from osteoarthritis
        • adjuvant pain management for knee surgeries
      • technique
        • targets the anterior and posterior branch of the obturator nerve
        • blocking the anterior branch leads to decreased sensation at the hip joint and inner thigh, where blocking the posterior branch decreases sensation around the knee
        • injection site is usually 2 cm inferior and 2 cm lateral to the pubic tubercle
      • complications
        • nerve injury and intravascular injection
        • damage to structures in the pelvic cavity
    • Popliteal nerve block
      • indications
        • used for surgery around the foot and ankle
        • often used in conjunction with the saphenous nerve block
      • technique
        • targets the sciatic nerve prior to its bifurcation
        • injection site is often 10 cm proximal to the popliteal crease
      • complications
        • nerve injury and intravascular injection
        • hematoma, persistent foot drop and pressure sores
    • Saphenous nerve block
      • indications
        • procedures around the medial aspect of the knee, leg and ankle
      • technique
        • targets the saphenous nerve
        • multiple different techniques, but it is often blocked behind the sartorius muscle
      • complications
        • nerve injury and intravascular injection
        • hematoma and infection
    • Periarticular injection
      • Important for analgesia in Total Knee and Total Hip Arthroplasty
      • For Total Knee Arthroplasty, has been associated with improved pain control compared to the  iPACK (interspace between the popliteal artery and the capsule of the posterior knee)
  • Blood Management
    • Ways to reduce postop anemia and need for allogeneic transfusion
      • surgical
        • hemostasis
        • meticulous dissection
      • hypotensive epidural anesthesia (HEA)
        • epidural dermatomal block from T2 distal
  • Complications
    • Malignant hyperthemia
      • rare (1:15,000 to 1:50,000) life-threatening condition
      • autosomal dominant transmission
        • abnormalities in the ryanodine receptor (RYR1) gene
      • triggers
        • volatile inhalational anesthetic agents
        • succinylcholine
      • outcome
        • if untreated, leads to circulatory collapse and death
      • treatment
        • provide antidote
        • active cooling
      • antidote
        • dantrolene (calcium blocker)
    • Bone cement implanation syndrome
      • associated with use of bone cement during joint arthroplasty procedures
      • symptoms
        • hypotension
        • hypoxemia
      • treatment
        • intravenous fluids
        • vasopressors
        • 100% inspired oxygen
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Basic Science | General and Regional Anesthesia in Orthopaedics
  • Basic Science
  • - General and Regional Anesthesia in Orthopaedics
22:44 min
10/21/2019
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