Features and Principles the Spread of Local Anesthetic Blockade of the Sciatic Nerve at Depends on the Amount of Anesthetic

Piacherski Valery, Marachkou Aliaksei

Health Care Institution, Mogilev Regional Hospital, Mogilev, The Republic of Belarus.

DOI: 10.4236/ojanes.2014.42004                

Abstract

Aim: To study the features of local anesthetic solution spreading during sciatic nerve block in dependence on the anesthetic solution volume. Material and Methods: One hundred and sixty nine cases of sciatic nerve blocks done under ultrasonic visualization control were analyzed. Sciatic nerve blocks were performed by lidocaine in volumes 30; 25; 20; 15; 12.5; 10; 7.5; 6.5; 5; 4.5 ml. The cross-section area, equal to local anesthetic spreading, was determined; the extension of the anesthetic solution spreading along sciatic nerve was calculated. Results: The anesthetic agent solution spreads along sciatic nerve in proximal and distal direction, forming a kind of cylinder. The minimum volume of the local anesthetic, which covers sciatic nerve in the whole, is 5 ml. A rare (1.77%) variation of sciatic nerve structure was described, in which tibial and common peroneal nerves develop directly from the branches of sacral plexus. Conclusion: The decrease of the local anesthetic volume leads to reduction of its spreading distance and cross-section area. Ultrasonic visualization can provide for sciatic nerve anatomical peculiarities, which can have an effect on the block quality.

Keywords

Sciatic Nerve Block; Ultrasound-Guided; Local Anesthetic Spreading

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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