Preoperative lateral popliteal nerve block for intraoperative and postoperative pain control in elective foot and ankle surgery: a prospective analysis.

Background: Limiting postoperative pain and minimizing systemic narcotic complications are important considerations in foot and ankle surgery to maximize patient comfort and promote early discharge from the hospital. Nerve blocks are valuable additions to perioperative care. A variety of nerve blocks have been advocated, but few reports have evaluated a preoperative supine approach for popliteal block in foot and ankle surgery.

Lateral trans-biceps popliteal block for elective foot and ankle surgery performed after induction of general anesthesia.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine safety and efficacy of lateral transtendinous popliteal blocks performed after induction of general anesthesia for intraoperative and postoperative pain control in elective foot and ankle surgery.

Methods: The charts of 475 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed. The technique was a lateral transtendinous popliteal block under nerve stimulator direction (described in the text).

Epithelioid sarcoma of the hand.

Twenty-eight patients were treated for a primary epithelioid sarcoma of the hand. Twenty-seven patients (96%) had excisions before evaluation, including 11 (39%) with multiple prior excisions with varying diagnoses before epithelioid sarcoma, and all had surgical treatment after referral. The patients' surgical management included three patients with amputation at the forearm, three patients with wide excision, and 21 patients with a partial amputation of the hand.