Welcome
Regional anaesthesia is enjoying a resurgence in popularity because of its many advantages to our patients.
These include decreased levels of pain, improved patient satisfaction, reduced stress response to surgery and possibly a reduced likelihood of a chronic regional pain syndrome.
Many of the disadvantages of regional anaesthesia can be negated by the use of ultrasound.
Evidence regarding the use of ultrasound in regional anaesthesia indicates that the use of US may:-
- decrease the time taken to perform a block
- decrease the time for a block to onset
- improve the duration of the block
- improve patient satisfaction in the block process
- allow a successful block without the use of a nerve stimulator
- lower the dose of local anaesthetic required for a block
- allow regional anaesthesia in otherwise difficult circumstances
- allow the detection of an intraneural injection
- allow confirmation of local anaesthetic spread
- allow confirmation of catheter placement
In addition US allows the performance of blocks that could not be performed without ultrasound.
As regional anaesthesia is inherently safe, ultrasound will eventually almost certainly prove safer than traditional approaches.
This site is presented as an introduction to ultrasound guided regional anaesthetic techniques. It will show the first principles of US and demonstrate some tried and tested block techniques that could help you in your daily practice.
