The efficacy of combined popliteal and ankle blocks in forefoot surgery.

Background: Postoperative pain following forefoot surgery can be difficult to control with oral analgesia. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of a combined popliteal and ankle block with that of an ankle block alone in providing postoperative analgesia following forefoot surgery.

Methods: We performed a prospective, randomized, controlled single-blind study involving sixty-three patients, twenty-six of whom had a combined ankle and popliteal block and thirty-seven of whom had an ankle block alone.