Alternative site for median nerve blockade allowing early functional rehabilitation after hand surgery

Abstract

Purpose: In this report we describe an alternative approach to catheter placement for continuous selective median nerve blockade. It spared the finger movements and therefore allowed early postoperative rehabilitation in a patient who underwent surgical repair of the index finger flexor tendon. Clinical features: A patient with a complicated history of traumatic index finger flexor tendon rupture, surgical repair, failed rehabilitation due to poor postoperative pain control, adhesion formation, and subsequent rerupture due to tenolysis was admitted for reconstructive surgery. This time, a continuous regional block was used. Although the insertion of a catheter at the wrist level would have spared the anterior interosseous branch of the median nerve and preserved finger movements, a more distant site had to be chosen to avoid proximity to the surgical wound. Therefore, under combined ultrasonography and neurostimulation guidance, the catheter was inserted in the proximal one-third of the patient's forearm distal to the branching-off point of the anterior interosseous nerve. Continuous ropivacaine infusion was initiated and maintained until being stopped on the afternoon of the third postoperative day, providing good analgesia without interfering with postoperative physiotherapy, which was successfully completed during this hospitalization. Conclusion: Placement of a catheter for continuous median nerve blockade in the proximal one-third of the forearm for effective postoperative pain-free rehabilitation after hand surgery should be considered in cases in which the surgical incision extends toward the patient's wrist. The block site can be readily identified by a combined use of ultrasonography and neurostimulation guidance. © 2011 Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.