Supraorbital nerve block in trabeculectomy surgery: an observational case series

Thirteen patients completed a visual analogue pain scale after trabeculectomy with topical anaesthesia and a supraorbital nerve block with 2 mL of lignocaine 2%. Ease of surgery was graded on a scale of 0-5. Inadvertent eye movements and episodes of orbicularis spasm were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA software. Median pain score (range) during delivery of anaesthesia was 2 (1-5), during surgery was 0 (0-4) and postoperatively was 0 (0-3). Pain scores after surgery were significantly lower than during delivery of anaesthesia (Wilcoxon signed rank test, P = 0.0289). Three subjects had inadvertent eye movements with ease of surgery recorded as 1 of 5 in 12 cases and 2 of 5 in one case. The novel application of this anaesthetic technique offers adequate analgesia in trabeculectomy surgery. However, a larger scale comparative trial is needed to further evaluate the value of this technique.