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Updated: May 21, 2026

Treatment of Ankle Osteoarthritis with Total Ankle Replacement Through a Lateral Transfibular Approach
Published on: January 24, 2018
Continuous popliteal block for postoperative analgesia in total ankle arthroplasty
Jorge Gallardo1, Leonardo Lagos, Christian Bastias
1Instituto Traumatológico, Foot and Ankle Service, San Martin 771, Santiago de Chile 8340220, Chile.
Background:
Total ankle arthroplasty is associated with severe postoperative pain. Development of analgesic techniques such as a block with continuous infusion at the popliteal level has been shown to result in good pain control, a decrease in the use of rescue analgesia and a low rate of complications. We reviewed our experience with this method of analgesia in patients who underwent total ankle arthroplasty.
Methods:
A prospective study of 30 patients undergoing total ankle arthroplasty was carried out. Twenty-two of these received and maintained a block at the popliteal level with a continuous infusion of bupivacaine, while the remaining eight received no such block.
Results:
The visual analog scale evaluation (VAS) showed a significant improvement in pain control in the group with the popliteal block after 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours postsurgery, with pain levels peaking and being most different between 6 and 12 hours postsurgery for the two groups. The group with the popliteal block also exhibited a significantly lower consumption of morphine and a greater degree of patient satisfaction.
Conclusion:
The block with continuous infusion at the popliteal fossa was a safe technique for total ankle arthroplasty postoperative analgesia, which provided good pain control, a lower requirement of opiates and a higher level of patient satisfaction.
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