Distal hand block

OBJECTIVE: Peripheral nerve blocks in hand surgery. INDICATIONS: Short operations on the hand. CONTRAINDICATIONS: Long operations, polyneuropathy, local anesthesia allergy. TECHNIQUE: Identification of landmarks, skin disinfection, local anesthesia injection, surgery. POSTOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT: Postoperative monitoring. RESULTS: We performed 75 hand surgeries using distal nerve blocks over 3 years (between 2015 and 2018) in our department. In all, 60% (n= 45) of cases belong to the innervation region of the median nerve, 28% of cases (n= 21) belong to the innervation area of the radial nerve and about 5% (n= 4) to the innervation area of the ulnar nerve. In 7% (n= 5) of cases, anesthesia of two neighboring innervation areas was necessary. The distal nerve block provides a reliable form of anesthesia in hand surgery with low complication rates.