Surgical peripheral nerve decompression for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy of the foot - A level 1 pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Aims: To assess the efficacy of surgical decompression of lower extremity nerves for the treatment of painful diabetic peripheral sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DPN).

Methods: People with painful diabetic neuropathy were randomized single-blind to a lower extremity decompression surgery (n = 12) or observation (n = 10) for 1 year.

Results: Pain was the primary outcome assessed with 2 measures.

Buffered lidocaine and bupivacaine mixture - the ideal local anesthetic solution?

The use of injectable local anesthetic solutions to facilitate pain-free surgery is an integral component of many procedures performed by the plastic surgeon. In many instances, a solution that has both rapid onset and prolonged duration of analgesia is optimal. A combination of lidocaine and bupivacaine, plain or with epinephrine, is readily available in most Canadian health care settings where such procedures are performed, and fulfills these criteria.