The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A randomized controlled trial to compare two techniques for partial digital local anesthetic blocks.
The administration of local anesthetic before surgery to the great toe is often associated with significant difficulties, delaying surgery and increasing risk. Anxious patients can faint, refuse injection, or withdraw the foot while an anesthetic is being delivered. Such events led us to consider whether delivering a small amount of anesthetic throughout the injection site, before the main injection, may reduce pain intensity and duration. ⋯ In the 2-stage method, it is believed that they were due to the initial infiltration of a small quantity of the anesthetic solution throughout the injection site, with the remainder being administered, after a 2-minute interval, into tissue that was predominantly anesthetized. This differs from raising a traditional bleb where a small amount of anesthetic is infiltrated into superficial tissue. The 2-stage technique is therefore recommended as the method of choice for adults.
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The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the prognostic value of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification with regard to perioperative variables of cardiac complications, pulmonary complications, and mortality in patients undergoing limb salvage procedures with monitored intravenous sedation and foot and ankle blocks. None of the ASA 3 or 4 patients experienced any pulmonary or cardiac complication; no patient required invasive monitoring or postoperative cardiac care unit admission. We suggest that the performance of peripheral foot and ankle blocks with monitored intravenous sedation appears to be a safe and useful option for ASA 3 and 4 patients undergoing limb-preservation surgery.
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Interphalangeal joint arthrodesis is a common procedure to correct fixed or semifixed lesser toe contracture. The authors present a simple modification to end-to-end interphalangeal joint arthrodesis that increases surface area and enhances construct stability. The technique is most commonly used for the proximal interphalangeal joint and may be combined with any number of fixation techniques.