[Intravenous local anesthesia for the surgery of the foot and ankle]

Short or medium length surgery on the foot and the ankle can be carried out under intravenous local anaesthesia. A premedication combining a tranquillizer with an opiate is necessary, making the arterial tourniquet more bearable. The use of an elastic bandage between the proximal part of the surgical field and the high pneumatic tourniquet maintains a compression of the venous network and the leg muscles, so preventing the anaesthetic from diffusing. Surgical analgesia can then be obtained with a small volume of lidocaine without adrenaline (10 to 15 ml). This intravenous local anaesthesia, which is easy to carry out, has no systemic repercussion and contraindications are rare.