Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2004
Case ReportsThe use of cervical paravertebral block as the sole anesthetic for shoulder surgery in a morbid patient: a case report.
The purpose of this case report is to describe the use of the cervical paravertebral block as the sole anesthetic for shoulder surgery in a patient unable to tolerate general anesthesia. Recent literature describes the continuous cervical paravertebral block as an effective alternative to the interscalene block for the management of postoperative pain after shoulder surgery. ⋯ Continuous cervical paravertebral block provided excellent surgical conditions and postoperative pain relief for this patient and allowed gradual and intermittent dosing of the catheter and continuous assessment of the anesthetic impact on respiratory function.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2004
Clinical evaluation of a modified posterior anatomical approach to performing the popliteal block.
Tibial and common peroneal nerves can be blocked by the posterior approach to the popliteal fossa. Techniques using fixed measured distances between knee skin crease and puncture point have been described. We report on an approach that is based on manual identification of the apex of the popliteal fossa. ⋯ The modified posterior anatomical approach for popliteal sciatic nerve block is easy to perform, has a high success rate, and has a low complication rate. The location of the needle insertion point is assessed without any measurement, thus avoiding inaccuracies caused by repeated skin-distance measurements.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · May 2004
Case ReportsSynovial cysts and the lithotomy position causing cauda equina syndrome.
We describe a case of cauda equina syndrome caused by synovial cysts and the lithotomy position. A transurethral resection of the prostate was performed under spinal anesthesia in the lithotomy position. ⋯ We believe that positioning the patient in the lithotomy position narrowed the cross-sectional area of the spinal canal in a patient with a coexisting critically stenosed lumbar spinal canal. The resultant mechanical pressure caused an ischemic compression injury to the cauda equina.