Regional anesthesia of the eye, orbit, and periocular skin

Advances in ophthalmic surgery, together with achieving greater patient safety, have changed the requirements of regional anaesthesia of the eye, orbit, and periocular skin. Patient comfort, safety, and low complication rates are essentials of regional anesthesia, which includes invasive procedures that generate intraoperative and postoperative analgesia, as well as akinesia. We present the currently used local anesthesia (topical and subcutaneous infiltration of local anesthetics) and regional anesthetic techniques in ophthalmic procedures, describing the techniques, advantages, disadvantages, and complications in ophthalmic regional blocks, as well as some educational measures to implement them to reduce the risk of ocular complications. Currently, there is no absolutely safe ophthalmic regional block, and the anesthetic modality should be assessed on a patient and surgeon basis. Local anesthesia is the reversible loss of sensation in certain area of the body to minimize pain and obtain patient comfort. It can be achieved through topical application or injection of anesthetic agents that block the nerve impulses to that tissue.