[Shoulder surgery using only regional anaesthesia].

Effective intra-operative anaesthesia and peri-operative analgesia are important aspects of patient care in orthopaedic surgery. The interscalene regional anaesthetic block technique, performed with the patient lying in a lateral decubitus position, is new for arthroscopic shoulder surgery conducted in the Netherlands. The combination of the interscalene block (without general anaesthesia) and the lateral decubitus position results in better peri-operative conditions for the patient.