Nerve Blocks
This is occasionally offered to reduce post-operative analgesic requirements
Your anaesthesiologist and/or surgeon may discuss the role of nerve blocks with you.
A nerve block may serve as a regional anaesthetic technique, thus avoiding a GA. Alternatively, it may serve to complement the general anaesthetic as well.
Depending on the patient’s health status, nerve blocks may be performed under sedation for patient comfort. It involves placing an ultrasound transducer to the nerve cluster and injection local anaesthetic medication in the vicinty of the cluster.
The local anaesthetic medication deactivates the nerve supply to the surgical site and hence eliminates pain impulses for a period of time.
While this technique reduces analgesic requirement, you may experience a weak and numb limb in the interim.
It might seem like this is a repeat of the Regional Anaesthesia section, but what is emphasized here, is the use of an ultrasound machine to guide the nerve block, ensuring more precision and accurate placement of the local anaesthetic medication.