Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2018
Ultrasound Detection of Arteria Comitans: A Novel Technique to Locate the Sciatic Nerve.
In the gluteal and thigh region, the arteria comitans accompanies the sciatic nerve for a short distance, then penetrates the nerve and runs to the lower part of the thigh. There is no study that recognizes this artery as a guide to the location of the sciatic nerve. In this report, we describe a series of 6 knee arthroplasty patients in whom ultrasound-guided sciatic nerve block was successfully performed using color Doppler and pulsed wave Doppler to visualize the arteria comitans as a guide to the location of the sciatic nerve. We have found that detecting the arteria comitans as a landmark is novel and may offer an additional tool with the existing methods for sciatic nerve block.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2018
ReviewTransversus Abdominis Plane Catheters for Analgesia Following Abdominal Surgery in Adults.
Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) catheters are increasingly being used as an opioid-sparing analgesic technique following abdominal surgery. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TAP catheters for postoperative analgesia following abdominal surgery in adults. ⋯ Because of the extremely heterogeneous nature of the studies, a specific consensus regarding their results, or the ability to construct a meta-analysis, is unviable. Although there are promising indications for the benefit of TAP catheter techniques, extrapolation/comparison of results and application to patient care will be better elucidated when there is more standardization of TAP catheter techniques and the methodology for measuring efficacy.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Jan 2018
Biography Historical ArticleThe Influence of Collaboration: Ralph Waters' Friendship With John Lundy and the Spread of Regional Anesthesia.
Ralph Waters, the founder of the anesthesiology department and residency program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and John Lundy, the chair at the Mayo Clinic beginning in 1924, collaborated to expand regional anesthetic techniques and knowledge not only at their institutions, but also at institutions around the country through correspondence, meetings, and hosting of other anesthesiologists. The Ralph Waters Collection at the University of Wisconsin Archives was searched for information on Waters' and Lundy's involvement in regional anesthesia. ⋯ Correspondence between Waters and Lundy from this collection was reviewed in detail. This article underscores the importance of exchange of ideas by physicians through didactics, organizations, and research through the story of Ralph Waters and John Lundy's mutual exchange of ideas and even friendship beginning in the 1920s.