Regional anesthesia for office-based procedures in otorhinolaryngology

Local and topical anesthetic techniques have long been used for office-based procedures in otorhinolaryngology. There are numerous advantages to using local and topical anesthesia for office-based procedures, including a shorter recovery period, decreased health care cost, and the maintenance of a conscious patient who can communicate with the surgeon and maintain his or her own airway during the procedure. In this manuscript, we review the local and topical anesthetic techniques that can be used for otorhinolaryngic procedures including anesthesia of the external face, ear, nose, oral cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx.