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Updated: May 23, 2026

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Published on: February 17, 2018
Surgeon administered regional blocks for day case forefoot surgery
Julian Foote1, Richard Freeman, Samer Morgan
1Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Worthing Hospital, Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 2DH, United Kingdom. julian.foote@btinternet.com
Orthopaedic surgeons can safely and effectively provide regional blocks for day case forefoot surgery. This method is well-tolerated by patients and offers significant cost savings for hospitals.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Pain Management
Background:
- Evaluating the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of regional blocks for day case forefoot surgery.
- Assessing the associated costs of providing regional block anesthesia services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if regional blocks are a safe, efficient, and effective anesthetic option for patients undergoing day case forefoot surgery.
- To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of regional blocks in this surgical setting.
Main Methods:
- Prospective recruitment of 63 consecutive patients for local anesthetic blocks.
- Blocks performed by the orthopaedic team, with efficacy assessed via intra-operative visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-10).
- Patient satisfaction with the anesthetic procedure was also evaluated.
Main Results:
- Average block procedure time was 6 minutes.
- Mean VAS scores: 0.44 for 'knife to skin' and 1.39 for ankle tourniquet use.
- Patients reported high satisfaction, and no complications were observed.
Conclusions:
- Regional blocks are a quick and easily performed procedure by orthopaedic surgeons.
- The blocks are well-tolerated, effective, and lead to substantial cost savings for the hospital.
- This supports the use of regional blocks as a primary anesthetic technique for day case forefoot surgery.
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