The History of Ultrasound-guided Regional Anesthesia

Ultrasound-guided Supraclavicular Approach for Regional Anesthesia of the Brachial Plexus. By Kapral S, Krafft P, Eibenberger K, Fitzgerald R, Gosch M, and Weinstabl C. Anesth Analg 1994; 78:507-13. As science keeps evolving, there is a time for revolutionary change. The Classic Paper here revisited, published in Anesthesia & Analgesia in 1994, was the first report to describe an ultrasound-guided technique for regional anesthesia. Its publication met with a response of skepticism, given the inherent claim that here was a novel approach capable of supporting, or indeed replacing, other techniques that had been used for well more than a century. This article recounts both the early history of ultrasound guidance and how this Classic Paper started a paradigm shift in regional anesthesia. Today, ultrasound-guided techniques are being used around the world as the result of 3 decades of devoted research and education. Numerous collaborations have been part of this journey, and the authors look back on years replete with personal memories and some of the more relevant moments.