Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 41, 673-676, Copyright © 1994 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

ARTICLES

Lateral popliteal sciatic nerve block compared with subcutaneous infiltration for analgesia following foot surgery

DH McLeod, DH Wong, RJ Claridge and PM Merrick
Department of Anaesthesia, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

A new lateral approach to blocking the sciatic nerve in the popliteal fossa is described. In a prospective study, 40 patients scheduled for foot surgery involving osteotomies were allocated randomly into one of two groups following induction of general anaesthesia: group PS (n = 21) received a lateral popliteal sciatic nerve block and group SC (n = 19) received subcutaneous infiltration of the wound. Both groups received 20 ml bupivacaine 0.5% plain. The lateral approach to the popliteal sciatic nerve was found to be an effective, quick, and easy to perform, block. Postoperative analgesia in groups PS lasted a median of 18.0 hr and in group SC lasted 6.3 hr (P [ 0.05). The lateral popliteal sciatic nerve block provided effective analgesia following foot surgery and had a high level of patient satisfaction.

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